Rally to be held for Kollin Elderts

The Justice for Kollin Elderts Coalition, with the blessings of the Elderts Ohana, has called for a rally and demonstration to be held tonight in front of the Waikiki Zoo at 6 p.m., followed by a march to the Kuhio Avenue McDonalds where Elderts was shot dead by intoxicated State Department agent Christopher Deedy. The marchers will hold a vigil there and pray for Elderts and for his family. Community leaders including Dr. Jon Osorio, Kathryn Xian and State Representative Kaniela Ing are expected to participate.

Deedy was acquitted of murder charges late yesterday. Prosecutors have indicated that they intend to seek a third trial for lesser charges the jury was deadlocked over.

The Elderts family prepared the following statement:

Nothing will ever bring Kollin back to us. We will never hear his contagious laugh, feel his touch, hear his voice or see his future children. The hole in our hearts from the loss of Kollin can never be mended.

Christopher Deedy is a very irresponsible, cowardly individual that took away the heartbeat of our family and forever changed us. Because of the poor decisions he made that tragic night, including drinking and walking our Waikiki Streets with a loaded personal firearm, we can never forgive him.

Moving forward, our mission is to make sure this never happens to another one our sons or daughters here in Hawaii. We will continue to work with all the groups and individuals that supported us since our tragic loss of Kollin, to ensure that no other parent will ever need to suffer through this kind of unnecessary loss of their child.

In honor of Kollin, we are currently working on a new law, which we will name “The Kollin Elderts Law.” This law will make it illegal for any public servant, such as police officers and special agents, from consuming ANY amount of alcohol while carrying a firearm whether on-duty or off-duty. If this new law saves the life of just one person, Kollin’s short life would not be lost in vain.