Roll of Honor
Thad Fumio Sugai
Incident
Officer Thad Sugai was shot and killed with his own service weapon when he confronted a naked man who was harassing visitors to Diamond Head Crater. Hiker's in the crater had advised police that the man, who they believed was high on drugs, was throwing rocks at them and had also been seen jumping on the hoods of cars in the parking lot. The suspect then appeared inside of secured Hawaii National Guard facility inside of the crater. When Officer Sugai drove up to the man he was immediately attacked. The suspect was able to drag Officer Sugai out of his patrol truck, disarm him, and then shot him multiple times. Another guard who arrived at the scene then shot and critically wounded the suspect. On October 4th, 1984, the suspect was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state department of health facility. Officer Sugai had served with the Hawaii State Security Division for one year.
Survivors
He was survived by his parents and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-HI-FBA5191A- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
You barely got started.
Officer Sugai gave the Hawaii Department of Public Safety 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the people of Hawaii. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Sugai.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Thad Fumio Sugai is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In HI, 31 of 64 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 48.4% of this state's fallen. That is 5.8 percentage points below the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thad Fumio Sugai's cause is highlighted.
How Thad Fumio Sugai Compares
Offender Outcome
Shot and wounded
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Thad Fumio Sugai is highlighted in Dec.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Thad Fumio Sugai was killed by officer's handgun.