A Honolulu police officer had no choice but to shoot and kill a 47-year-old man during a standoff with police in Wai'anae in order to protect himself, other officers and neighbors, a city prosecutor said yesterday.

Officer Wayne Silva of the police's Specialized Services Division shot Tracy Peters twice from about 25 to 30 yards away on May 13, hitting him in the stomach and head, acting city Prosecutor Franklin Pacarro Jr. said.

But this was after Peters fired a shotgun numerous times, repeatedly refused to drop his weapon, pointed the shotgun at nearby homes, told officers he would shoot them if they didn't shoot him, pulled out two loaded handguns and pointed the weapons at Silva and other officers, Pacarro said. Pacarro said Silva was not only justified in firing his M-4 rifle, but he acted correctly.

"He went beyond the call because he was trying to keep the community safe, and he saved lives," he said. "People there were deathly afraid of Mr. Peters."

Silva was placed on administrative leave, a standard procedure for an officer involved in a fatal shooting, but is now back on regular duty.

Peters, who has a criminal record of 23 convictions including robbery related to the 1977 slaying of an Army sentry at the Wai'anae Army Recreation Center, spent most of his adult life behind bars and had been released from prison Dec. 1.

Pacarro, the acting prosecutor because city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle is out of town, said Peters was wearing a ski mask when he fired his shotgun into his car before police officers were sent to the Kaukama Road area.

Peters continued brandishing the weapon after police arrived and fired the shotgun in the air or toward police, with one officer getting hit in the arm from a ricocheting pellet, the acting prosecutor said.

Peters was about 30 yards from Silva and other officers when he fired his shotgun two more times, emptying the weapon, and then pulled out the two handguns before he was shot, he said.

Police found one handgun still in Peters' right hand with his finger on the trigger and the other weapon behind his body, Pacarro said. Toxicology tests show Peters had methamphetamine and marijuana in his system, and police recovered a glass pipe and ice from his car, Pacarro said.

He said his office decided not to prosecute on charges including murder based on a "thorough" review of witness statements, the physical evidence and police accounts.

Silva's decision to "use deadly force to protect himself, other officers and the community in the immediate area was a justified act under the law," Pacarro said.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.