Siaumau Siaumau Jr, is facing charges of first degree murder, attempted murder and firearms related offences.
American Samoa police detective Lusila Brown was killed in the attack, which was witnessed by many court staff and lawyers. The defendant believed the detective was responsible for the arrest of his mother.
Presenter: Bruce Hill
Speaker: Monica Miller, American Samoa reporter
MILLER: The defendant has appeared in court, in fact he appeared in the District Court this morning, he's been charged with a total of 14 counts, most serious of which are murder and two counts of attempted first degree murder. The attempted murder charges relate to two other officers that he shot. One was shot in the hand and I believe he's recovering well, but the other bullet was meant for a police officer, but the police officer escaped unharmed and the bullet hit a police vehicle. So there was heavy presence in and around the district court building this morning at the time of the initial appearance for Siaumau Siaumau Jr. And he's been held without bail, and his preliminary examination which will determine if there's enough evidence to bind the case over to the High Court has been set for next Monday.
HILL: I imagine it's hit the community and the police force in American Samoa pretty hard. It's not every day a police detective gets killed in the line of duty?
MILLER: Right it certainly shocked the people of American Samoa. This is the first time that a policeman has been shot in broad daylight right there outside of the High Court building so that was a very brazen attack on the life of a police officer. So yes, the community is still in shock. I would say that the police force is emotional about the death of the police officer. But there hasn't been any repercussions since what happened last week, and I would say that things are normal. But you can sense that this was a defining moment, it's going to change law enforcement in the territory and indeed the life of ordinary members of the public.
HILL: It's not a very Samoan thing to have happened is it, it's more of an American thing?
MILLER: Yes it's a fairly peaceful community. Yes we've had cases where people have been murdered, but this stands out because it was so blatant, and it's done right there outside of the High Court building. So definitely it's not expected.
HILL: Is this a case perhaps where some of the problems of the American mainland are increasingly becoming apparent in American Samoa, which traditionally thought of itself as a bit off to one side, a bit more Samoan than it was American?
MILLER: Even though it's an American territory I would say that if you compare the crime here with what's happened in Samoa just next door, I think that this has been a relatively peaceful society. Now in terms of the influence of American society, I would say that this has always been thought of as a gateway for weapons and contraband coming through the Pacific. And I note that there was a transnational crime report that referred recently to American Samoa and Tonga as being the main sources of weapons coming to the Pacific islands.
