Officer Riley Borges was part of the Honolulu Police Department team that searched the area of the Pali Puka Trail for an attempted murder suspect last year. Borges testified in Gerhardt Konig's trial this week in Hawaii's 1st Circuit Court in Honolulu. Konig, an anesthesiologist on Maui, is accused of trying to kill his wife, Arielle, while they were on O'ahu celebrating her birthday last March. Borges said he was in an unmarked police "soccer mom van" driven by Officer Chauncey Nicola when they spotted a man matching Konig's description emerge from a forested area and onto the roadway. Nicola reached Konig first, then Borges and other officers helped subdue him by first striking large muscle areas to try to gain compliance, then advancing to what Borges called "a pain compliance method." (You can watch Nicola testify about chasing Konig here @Meghann Cuniff.) "Were you saying anything as you exit the vehicle?" Deputy Prosecutor Joel Garner asked. "Yes, I was saying, 'Please stop! Stop, you know, resisting," Borges answered. Garner asked Borges to "maybe lean back from the microphone" then demonstrate the command. "Yes. 'Please stop!'" Borges testified. "Thank you. Did you give the defendant a chance to comply?" Garner asked. "Yes," Borges answered. "About how long?" Garner asked. "A few seconds," Borges answered. Borges said he exited the van and "as I came around the vehicle, Officer Nicola and the suspect, they were already on the ground, and Officer Nicola was attempting to detain or subdue the suspect." "What did you observe the defendant doing as Officer Nicola was trying to detain him?" Garner asked. "he was on the ground, flailing his arms, kicking his legs, trying to move his body," Borges answered. "Well, was the defendant doing anything with his arms?" Garner asked. "Yes, he was, in addition to flailing it, he was tucking it under his under his chest area, while he was prone on the ground," Borges answered. Borges said he "was concerned that the suspect would be reaching for his waistband, which is a common area that people, you know, hide tools or weapons." "I went around to kind of his legs area and just tried to take a hold of his legs and hold it down," Borges testified. "Was that able to work?" Garner asked. "Not initially. We're able to keep him on the ground, but we're still trying to restrain him," Borges said. Borges said when "the muscle dysfunctional strikes" didn't work, "I switched to more of a pain compliance type of strike," which "target areas such as your ribs." "When you deliver those strikes, you can feel the person kind of lose the will to fight. ... You can feel their level of resistance decreasing," Borges testified. "Where did you deliver the pain compliance strikes in this case?" Garner asked. "To his ribs, right, right side rib cage," Borges answered. "And how many of those strikes did you deliver?" Garner asked. "Approximately two to three," Borges answered. "Were those effective?" Garner asked. "Yes," Borges answered. "So after those pain compliance strikes were effective, did the defendant continue resisting?" Garner asked. "Very slightly, but we were able to get his arm behind his back," Borges answered. #thinblueline #crime #court #law - @meghannmcuniff