T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE — T-shirts marking the 10th anniversary Hawaii Police Commemorative Fund tournament are still available for purchase. Here, Detectives Harold Sumaoang of the Hilo Vice Section and Grace Castillo of the Hilo Criminal Investigation Section model the shirts, which cost $15 apiece.
HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
349 KAPIOLANI STREET
HILO, HAWAII 96720
PHONE: 961-2346
MAY 17, 2000
MEDIA RELEASE
T-shirts marking the 10th anniversary Hawaii Police Commemorative Fund Tournament are still available for purchase, tournament organizers have announced.
Funds raised from the sale of the T-shirts will go partly to fund scholarships at both the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Community College. A portion will also go toward construction of a memorial monument to honor fallen police officers who have been killed in the line of duty.
The black T-shirts feature the likeness of Officer Ronald “Shige” Jitchaku, who was killed on May 7, 1990, while attempting to break up a large brawl on Banyan Drive in Hilo. They are available, at $15 each, in five sizes – small, medium, large, X-large and XX-large. Checks for the T-shirts should be made payable to the Hawaii Police Commemorative Fund.
Those wishing to purchase a T-shirt should call 961-2346.
The commemorative tournament, scheduled for Friday through Sunday, May 19-21, 2000, is held each year to honor Jitchaku. Also honored are Officer Kenneth K. Keliipio, who was killed in a 1997 motor vehicle collision while helping a stranded motorist, and Daison “Froggie” Morita, a firefighter who was also killed in a motor vehicle collision in 1998. All three have tournament events named in their honor.
The tournament is held in conjunction with Police Week, which 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.
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