Honolulu Police Department, Hawaii
End of Watch: Sunday, July 24, 1927
Age: 39
Tour of Duty: 6 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 24, 1927
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Sentenced to 20 years to life
Officer Samson Paele was killed, and his wife was wounded, after being shot at their home in Wahiawa by a man he had arrested earlier in the evening.
He had stopped the man for driving recklessly and discovered he was drunk. Because the man was known to him, and the distance to the jail, he let the man return home with a promise he would come to court in the morning. Officer Paele went home after his shift. He and his wife were leaving the home later in the evening when the subject and the subject's wife approached them. The man opened fire, killing Officer Paele and wounding his wife.
The 46-year-old man then shot himself in an attempt to commit suicide. His suicide attempt left him paralyzed from the waist down. He was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 20 years to life.
Officer Paele had served with the Honolulu Police Department for six years.