SUSPENDED Police Officer Troy Anthony Taman Manahane was released on Wednesday to a third-party custodian, his mother, and was placed under house arrest after posting 10% of the $10,000 bail set by the Superior Court.
Police said Manahane pointed and used his service firearm to assault a suspect in a domestic incident report on Jan. 21, 2024.
Manahane, 26, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and disturbing the peace.
Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho granted Manahane’s motion for bail modification. The judge also ordered Manahane to surrender any firearm that he has to the Department of Public Safety.
Judge Camacho reminded the third-party custodian that the defendant cannot go anywhere without her.
At the hearing, Manahane was represented by attorney Joseph Horey while Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government.
Horey told the court that his client was “suspended indefinitely” from DPS. He said Manahane should be allowed to be released to his mother, saying both have no priors.
Hinds noted the seriousness of the case but did not object to the defendant’s release to a third-party custodian.
Manahane was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 30 at 10 a.m., and for an arraignment on Nov. 18 at 9 a.m.
Background
According to the complaint, Manahane and another police officer, Keanu Hosono, responded to a domestic incident on Jan. 21 in Susupe.
The suspect, Sheldon Kaainoa, said he had a verbal dispute with his girlfriend and did not want their argument to escalate, so he chose to leave their apartment until she calmed down.
While standing outside the apartment, he said he saw a police car rushing and pulling into the parking lot. To evade the officers, Kaainoa said he ran to the second floor and jumped out of a window.
Kaainoa was apprehended by Hosono and was instructed to sit. Manahane then approached Kaainoa and instructed him to discard a pen he was holding and to get in the back seat of a marked police car.
Kaainoa said he was in the back passenger seat when he saw Manahane unbuckling his police belt and brandishing a gun.
Kaainoa said Manahane pointed the gun at him and asked, “What would you do if my partner shot you?”
Kaainoa said he asked Manahane three times to put the gun away.
Kaainoa said he expected to be arrested for domestic violence, but was instead dropped off at his apartment
When interviewed by an Internal Affairs investigator, Manahane denied threatening Kaainoa with his gun, but admitted that he unbuckled his police belt and dropped Kaainoa at his apartment.
For his part, Hosono said he saw Manahane aiming a gun at Kaainoa. Hosono said he didn’t mention it earlier because it was his “first time to see a seasoned officer point a gun at a civilian, and it freaked him out.”
Hosono said he feared being labeled a snitch and ridiculed by other officers.
Hosono said Manahane, while on administrative duty, implied he had close connections with Internal Affairs investigators, including the DPS commissioner.
In a press conference last week, Department of Public Safety Commissioner Anthony I. Macaranas said, “I don’t tolerate police misconduct,” adding that Manahane’s actions were unacceptable.
