On the night of August 15, 2025, in Pāʻia, Maui, Suzanne O, age 37, Samoan and female, was shot and killed while responding to a call at the old Pāʻia Sugar Mill. Maui police identified Suzanne O as the officer who died in the line of duty, and the department publicly mourned her death the next day. A local outlet described a roadside memorial in her honor as the community grieved.
Suzanne O and other officers had been dispatched around 8 p.m.
after reports that a trespasser had fired multiple shots at the mill's caretaker. A timeline later released by police put the initial call at 8:18 p.m.; by roughly 8:26–8:30 p.m., officers searching the rugged grounds encountered gunfire. Investigators said the round that fatally struck Suzanne O hit just above her protective vest and was fired from a ghost gun. Preliminary-hearing testimony described an ambush from behind a concrete block as officers moved through the field.
The suspect, identified by police as 38-year-old Clembert Aliʻi Kaneholani, was wounded in the exchange and taken into custody that night near the Pāʻia Sugar Mill. Authorities said he was held without bail on allegations including first-degree murder and attempted murder. Days later, a judge affirmed multiple charges against him—first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, carrying a firearm in the commission of another felony, illegal possession of a firearm, and possession of a prohibited magazine—and set further court dates. At month's end, Kaneholani pleaded not guilty; the court maintained that he would be held without bail and scheduled a trial date.
In the weeks that followed, the department released body-worn camera footage and additional details, and the island honored Suzanne O with processions and memorials. Colleagues remembered her as a five-year Maui Police Department veteran recognized previously for merit, and obituaries noted she was born in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and served her community with distinction.
