MEDIA RELEASE

A Kaʻū man died Monday (April 25) after police responded to a report of a shooting.

He has been identified as 46-year-old Jonathan Watson of Ocean View.

At 9:51 a.m. Monday, the Police Department received a 9-1-1 call from a man who said he had been shot. When officers arrived at a home on the 92-2600 block of Hukilau Drive in the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates subdivision, a man with a bandage on his left leg came out of the house in an aggressive manner and began fighting with the officers. The officers took him into custody.

While some of the officers went into the house to check for possible suspects or victims, Watson tried to kick the officers who were with him, and then he became unresponsive.

Police attempted cardio-pulmonary resuscitation until Fire Department personnel arrived a few minutes later and took over unsuccessful efforts to revive him. Watson was later taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was officially pronounced dead at 3:40 p.m.

Police have requested an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. The case is classified as a coroner’s inquest.

As is standard practice when someone dies while in police custody, the Police Department’s Area II Criminal Investigations Section will conduct an investigation into the death and the circumstances leading to it, and the Office of Professional Standards will conduct an administrative investigation.