Eleven members of the Hawaii Police Department’s 73^rd Recruit Class were recognized Wednesday (April 30) during ceremonies held at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel.

The police recruits, who underwent five-and-a-half months of intensive training, will now undergo three-and-a-half more months of on-the-job field training with veteran police officers before they are qualified to work alone.

During Wednesday’s luncheon ceremony, Class President Matthew Lewis said the recruits came from as far away as Ireland, Chicago and Indonesia and as nearby as a few blocks from the Hilo police station. They included a former cell phone salesman, car salesman, college students, armored car driver, nursery worker, health care project manager, security guard, mechanic, university employee and construction worker.

Deputy Chief Harry Kubojiri told the recruits to make community satisfaction an everyday goal. To illustrate the point, he read a letter from a woman who wrote to the police chief to commend an officer who had given her a speeding ticket. “That’s community satisfaction at its best,” Kubojiri said.

The keynote speaker, Deputy Prosecutor Jack Matsukawa echoed Kubojiri’s sentiment by encouraging the officers to be nice to the people they encounter in their new career. “Treat ’em like they was the chief and give them respect,” he said.

Mayor Harry Kim urged the recruit’s families to understand that sometimes the officers will encounter depressing situations that most members of the community never have to experience. “You need to understand that and what they go through on a bad day,” he said.

Four of the recruits received special recognition for their excellence in training. They were Aaron Cork, who excelled in academic training, Benjamin Galluppi, who excelled in firearms training, John McCarron, who excelled in physical fitness training and Lewis, who received the outstanding officer award.

The other recruits recognized were Jon Carvalho, Sean Phelan, Eric Reyes, Joseph Rocha, Marco Segobia, Joseph Villa and Dwight Walker.