This image from a police officer’s body cam shows Nathaniel Naki of Molokai holding a machete before he was shot by police on April 30, 2023. The shooting death of Naki may be headed for a settlement after the Maui County Council authorized negotiations on Oct. 11.

More than a year and a half after a Molokai man died in a police shooting on April 30, 2023, a civil lawsuit filed by his family might be headed for a settlement.

Nathaniel Naki’s family alleges his death was a result of “excessive” and “unreasonable deadly force.” Maui police have said two officers were responding to a call about a violation of a temporary restraining order and, after an ineffective deployment of a Taser, shot multiple times at Naki, who was carrying a large machete.

The request for a settlement came from the administration of Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen, who once served as the county prosecuting attorney and later as a Maui Second Circuit Court judge. The Maui County Council authorized negotiations through the Maui Corporation Counsel on Oct. 11.

The amount of money authorized for a potential settlement and the reason for settling the case remains undisclosed to the public.

Council Chair Alice Lee said she’s been advised by Corporation Counsel not to discuss the meeting that took place in the Government Relations, Ethics, and Transparency Committee.

On Friday, Deputy Corporation Counsel Bradley Sova also declined to comment on the case or a potential settlement, citing ongoing litigation.

Neither Bissen, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier nor Naki’s attorney William Harrison returned calls from The Maui News requesting comment.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, the lawsuit alleges Naki’s death was unjustified and unlawful and that two Maui police officers used excessive and unreasonable deadly force.

The lawsuit also alleges the wrongful conduct of detaining and firing a weapon at Naki violated his Fourth Amendment rights to due process under the law.

Naki, 40, was born and raised on Molokai. He was homeless at the time and residing near the roadside where he was killed. The lawsuit says the officers knew Naki and that Naki occasionally attended the same church as one of the officers.

A temporary restraining order had been filed against Naki by a nearby property owner, and the two police officers received a call from another police officer stating that Naki was in violation of the restraining order by being close to the property, the lawsuit said.

Upon arrival, the two police officers saw Naki was a distance away from the property and had a machete. The lawsuit says video from a police body cam shows the machete was tucked under Naki’s arm and not wielded in a threatening manner at any time.

The lawsuit also says the police officers pointed their firearms at Naki and demanded that he put down the machete while “shouting expletives” and “repeatedly yelling and threatening to shoot and kill Nathaniel.”

The lawsuit continues by saying Naki was ordered to back away from the officers, and when he did so, the two police officers moved toward him with their guns drawn. Naki reportedly told the officers he was not doing anything wrong, and when confronted with the allegation that he had violated the restraining order, he replied that he had not done so.

The lawsuit says that, without further provocation, the two officers fired their weapons with one firing three shots and the other firing at least two.

“The use of such force was unreasonable, unnecessary, excessive and in violation of (state law),” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit adds that Naki’s mother and her husband lived about 200 yards from where the shooting took place, and they hurried to the scene where police had cordoned off the area, preventing the family from attempting to care for Naki. The lawsuit says the family members were “in eye and earshot of Nathaniel as he lay in the street gurgling and horribly moaning as he expired.”

The lawsuit contends that the alleged violation of the restraining order was a misdemeanor offense and that Naki was neither resisting arrest nor attempting to evade arrest when he was shot.

At a press conference a few days after the shooting, Pelletier said life-saving measures were administered by the police officers and an off-duty firefighter after the shooting.

Assistant Chief Keola Tom also said the two officers were getting out of their car when Naki immediately advanced on one of them while carrying a two-foot-long machete.

Tom said an officer discharged a Taser, but there was no effect and the officers told Naki 70 times to drop the machete and more than 29 times to move back. Tom said officers also told Naki they did not want to harm him.

During the press conference, Pelletier said the shooting also affected the officers, for whom upholding the law is no longer the singular function of their job.

“With increasing frequency we see officers deal with individuals suffering from mental health issues and substance abuse,” he said.