HILO, Hawai'i — A preliminary internal investigation into the fatal shooting of a fleeing prison inmate in downtown Hilo has cleared the officer who fired the shot of any wrongdoing, according to Frank Lopez, interim director of the state Department of Public Safety.

Investigators concluded that inmate Thane K. Leialoha, 28, somehow obtained a key that allowed him to free himself from his handcuffs and shackles as he was being taken in a prison van from District Court in Hilo back to the Hawai'i Community Correctional Center on April 11.

Lopez yesterday said Leialoha then used both feet to kick the locked door of the van, bending the hinges and opening a space at the base of the door that was large enough for Leialoha to slip out. He crawled through the space and under the van, Lopez said.

Outside the van, Leialoha struggled briefly with a corrections officer and knocked the officer to the ground before running down Haili Street at about 2:07 p.m.

The officer who had been knocked down then fired a single shot at Leialoha, striking him in the head. Leialoha was pronounced dead at Hilo Medical Center that evening.

Lopez said state law and Department of Public Safety policy authorize corrections officers to use lethal force to stop an escaping convict. If the law changes, the department will change the policy, but there are no plans to change that policy now, Lopez said.

"We believe statutorily we have the right to prevent escapes, to use lethal force to prevent escapes in the interest of protecting the community," Lopez said.

Leialoha's father, Thomas Leialoha, flatly rejected the department's conclusion.

"Murder by a badge. You mean that was legal? You've got to be crazy," Leialoha said. "That's murder by the badge. My son was murdered. You mean they followed policy?"

When told the department had tentatively concluded the shooting was legal, Leialoha replied: "You mean, that's a legal murder."

Family members have said they plan to hire a lawyer to hold the department accountable for the shooting.

Lopez said he has decided there will be no further administrative action taken in the case.

The corrections officer, a five-year employee of the department, has been on paid leave since the shooting. Lopez said there had been an outpouring of support for the officer from other department employees across the Islands, and said many Public Safety employees strongly believe the officer behaved properly.

Lopez said the key Leialoha used to free himself did not come from either of the corrections officers who were in the van with him. He said one inmate told investigators Leialoha came to jail with the key when he was arrested April 9. The key was found outside the van after the shooting, Lopez said.

Leialoha had been convicted of second-degree robbery, theft and second-degree assault in 1998, and third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug in 2002.

Public Safety officials were returning him to prison for a parole violation when he escaped and was shot.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.