HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
COMMUNITY RELATIONS SECTION
OFFICER DEXTER VERIATO
PHONE: 961-2264
MAY 8, 2000
MEDIA RELEASE
The Hawaii County Police Department will celebrate Police Week this month with a ceremony at its Hilo headquarters and tours of all police stations on the Big Island.
Mayor Stephen Yamashiro has proclaimed the week of May 14-20 as Police Week to honor the men and women of the Hawaii County Police Department, and the department will kick off the occasion at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 15, with a ceremony to be held at the Public Safety Building in Hilo. Local entertainers will perform, and the public is invited.
This year’s Police Week will recognize officers who have fallen in the line of duty. The theme of this year’s kickoff ceremonies is “We’ll be there…every hour…every day.”
Among the entertainers scheduled to perform are RSVP Ke Ola Pono No Na Kupuna; the Hilo High School Band; Lisa Taylor, Miss Aloha Hawaii 1997 and Miss Kona Coffee 1998; and Kaleo O Kamakani.
In addition, Vice Section officers will conduct a K9 demonstration. In the Traffic Services Section of the Hilo Police Station, old county police uniforms and a community policing exhibit will be on public display.
During the week, all district police stations on the Big Island will be open for conducted public tours. Anyone interested in scheduling a tour of a police station should call Officer Dexter Veriato, Community Relations Section, at 961-2264.
Police Week has been celebrated since 1962, when President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 of each year as Peace Officers’ Memorial Day and the calendar week on which May 15 falls as Police Week.
Peace Officers’ Memorial Day is in honor of all federal, state and municipal officers who have been killed or disabled in the line of duty.
Also, in 1994, Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed Public Law 103-322, requiring that the American Flag be lowered to half-mast on May 15 as a special tribute to more than 14,000 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.
Three officers have died in the line of duty on the Big Island. They are Officers Manuel Cadinha in 1918, Ronald “Shige” Jitchaku in 1990 and Kenneth Keliipio in 1997.
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