June 16, 2021- 12:40 p.m.
Doorbell camera video obtained and made public by lawyers representing the family of a man fatally shot two months ago by Honolulu police provides more information about the events that unfolded before the deadly encounter with officers.
The footage shows that he arrived at a house, took off his shoes, entered the home and then quickly left after his presence confused the occupants. He repeatedly apologized.
After police killed Lindani Myeni in April, his widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging officers were motivated by racial discrimination because her unarmed South African husband was Black.
The shooting happened three months after Lindani and Lindsay Myeni moved to Hawaii, where she grew up. The couple believed Hawaii’s diversity would make it the safest U.S. state to raise their two Black children, she said.
A statement from the lawyers who released the video said Honolulu police “tried to convince the public that this was a burglary and that Lindani Myeni was acting erratically; but the doorbell video we have now obtained from the owner shows that HPD knew all along these stories were untrue.”
The statement added: “We have also compelled the City to turn over unredacted body cam footage in its original format, producing much better quality audio and images than the version that HPD played for the press on April 16, 2021.”
The doorbell footage shows that Myeni arrived at the house soon after a couple entered the home that night. According to depositions in the lawsuit, the man and woman were tourists staying in the multi-unit dwelling, the lawyers said.
