Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Day service held in Lihu‘e

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Police Chaplain Jade Wai‘ale‘ale Battad offers the invocation and prayer during the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Day on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Attendees included members of the 100th Recruit Class, which will be celebrating its graduation in a few weeks.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Police Chaplain Jade Wai‘ale‘ale Battad leads the invocation and prayer during the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service that is a part of National Police Week at Ka Hale Maka‘i O Kaua‘i building on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency director Elton Ushio represents Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami in presenting Kaua‘i Police Chief Todd Raybuck with the proclamation celebrating National Police Week during the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service held at Ka Hale Maka‘i O Kaua‘i building on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Under U.S. presidential order, reinforced by Gov. Josh Green, the flags at Ka Hale Maka‘i O Kaua‘i were at half-staff on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, during the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service coordinated by the Kaua‘i Police Department as part of National Police Week.

LIHU‘E — Following the recitation of all of Hawai‘i’s fallen law enforcement personnel by members of the 100th Recruit Class at the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Day service on Wednesday, Kaua‘i Police Department Chief Todd Raybuck said, “We will never forget!”

He said Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Day serves as a reminder of the dangers faced on a daily basis and the courage it takes to become a member of law enforcement.

Members of the Kaua‘i Police Department, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, the Kaua‘i County Council and local residents took a moment to remember and appreciate the services law enforcement officers provide.

May 15 was proclaimed by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 to be a memorial day for fallen law enforcement officers — National Peace Officers Memorial Day.

Elton Ushio, who was representing Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami at the service, said the Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency staff is closely monitoring the Kona Low cyclone threatening the islands, and that his staff participated in a state’s morning briefing on the issue.

Kaua‘i County Council members also took time to remember and reflect before leaving early to make the May 15 meeting where one of the matters being discussed included a proposed ordinance to fund emergency expenditures totaling $2 million stemming from heavy rainfall and flooding in April.

The council members did not depart before the 100th Recruit Class recited the names of fallen law enforcement personnel in Hawai‘i.

The names included personnel from the Honolulu Police Department, Maui Police Department, Hawai‘i County Police Department, Deputy Sheriff Kingdom of Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i Special Police, U.S. Coast Guard and Military Police.

The names also included personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration, State of Hawai‘i Harbor Police, Hawai‘i Department of Public Safety-Sheriff Division, the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Sgt. Morris Unatoa said the week surrounding the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service is National Police Week, which offers honor, remembrance and peer support while allowing law enforcement personnel, survivors and citizens to gather and pay homage to those people who gave their lives in the line of duty.

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