![]() We depend singularly on tourism, an inherently exploitative industry that almost everybody who lives here hates. ![]() We’re living through a time of drastic economic inequality. But if we’re not actively trying to rectify the root sources of poverty and homelessness, I worry that even the most comprehensive police reform imaginable won’t matter. ![]() He should be facing the consequences of his actions now, in custody, and alive. None of this excuses his actions, just as his alleged crime spree doesn’t justify his killing. It takes an extraordinary person to overcome poverty in this country. There are people who emerge from those circumstances successfully, but they’re the exceptions. Poverty, hunger and homelessness are breeding grounds for desperation, and desperation is easily coaxed into criminal behavior - especially when you’re 16. The typical internet response has been some version of “he should’ve been responsible for himself and made better choices.” That’s unrealistic, if not outright naive. It’s hard to understand the intensity of the moment from a sanitized distance, and the online sentiment of “if I were the officer, I would simply de-escalate the situation” comes off as smug and unserious.īut to see this incident only through the lens of police reform misses the bigger and perhaps more important picture, in the same way that focusing solely on Sykap’s death misses the greater tragedy of the conditions that made him a criminal. As a general principle, I try to assume that everyone’s job is harder than it looks, and this is especially true for police officers. Police are not supposed to be executioners, even when someone is breaking the law.īut I’m also wary of judging the officers involved too harshly - at least until bodycam footage becomes available. HPD’s use of deadly force is highly suspicious, especially in light of recently implemented policies on when it is permissible to fire at a moving vehicle. In the aftermath, there were calls for police reform, and as usual they were correct. Protesters demonstrated on Saturday at Thomas Square against police violence five days after the police killing of 16-year-old Iremamber Sykap. The trajectories of their lives are symptoms of a society that has failed on a fundamental level. Judging by Sykap’s company - four other teenagers and a 22-year-old - it’s hard to say his behavior was a result of some unique, individual sociopathy. These circumstances and experiences change how you perceive your place in the world and what options you really have. That type of daily trauma is compounded by the fact that he’s Micronesian, which means he almost certainly experienced racism. He was living in poverty - Hawaii News Now reported that investigators believe he was unsheltered. Of course, Sykap was not a normal 16-year-old. These are not the behaviors of a normal 16-year-old. ![]() Think of what is alleged of Sykap and his peers just in the past week: car thefts, purse snatching and armed robbery. In reality, criminality is often directly tied to whether or not one’s basic needs are met. It can be hard to square these two accounts of Sykap, especially since we tend to think of criminal behavior as a function of personality: people who do bad things are bad people, like cartoon villains. We also know he had a history of criminal behavior that resulted in multiple arrests. And we know from the gatherings at the place of his death that he was loved, too. We know from his sister that “he would make you laugh at your lowest.” We know from his teacher that he was friendly and playful, and that he loved his family deeply. We don’t know much about Sykap the person just yet, but we know he was born in Guam and was the youngest of eight children. Sykap was taken in critical condition to the hospital, where he died.Īccording to Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard, the car was connected to several crimes leading up to the fatal shooting, including an armed robbery in Moiliili just 20 minutes prior, though no guns were found at the scene of the crash. Following a police chase, officers shot at the car, and it crashed into a drainage ditch near McCully. On April 5, Sykap was driving a stolen car along with five others between the ages of 14 and 22. ![]() Here’s what we know about the shooting of 16-year-old Iremamber Sykap. ![]()
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