HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
COMMUNITY RELATIONS SECTION
OFFICER MIKE RIVIERA
PHONE: 961-2269
MAY 10, 2005
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.
The week of May 15-21, 2004, has been proclaimed Police Week in honor of police officers who have given their lives in the line of duty.
A public ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Monday (May 16, 2005) at the Hawaii Police Department Headquarters located at 349 Kapiolani Street in Hilo. Entertainment will be provided by Ke Ola Pono and the Hilo High School Viking Band. The Hilo High School Army Junior ROTC will present the colors at the opening of the ceremony.
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 Alan Kimura of the 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.
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 in the United States.
Four officers have died in the line of duty on the Big Island. They are Officers Manuel Cadinha in 1918, William “Red” Oili in 1936, Ronald “Shige” Jitchaku in 1990 and Kenneth Keliipio in 1997.
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