A bouquet of pink roses was among the many flowers that people brought Sunday to the Honolulu Police Department’s main station to remember the two officers shot and killed that morning.
Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard identified the two Honolulu police officers as Tiffany Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama.
They were both parents, Ballard said.
Kalama was a nine-year veteran and served with District 7 (East Honolulu).
Enriquez had seven years of service on the force and was assigned to District 6 (Waikiki).
“She was a young grandma” and had formerly been in the military, said a retired HPD officer who did not want to be named.
Enriquez was “very extroverted” and got heavily into fitness, even entering fitness competitions, he said.
She was originally from Guam and attended Simon Sanchez High School in Yigo, KUAM News reported.
She leaves behind three daughters and a grandson, the TV station reported.
Leilani Benvante Naser, a cousin, told KUAM News that Enriquez served in the Air Force Reserves and worked in corrections before joining HPD, and also was a bodybuilder. She was featured on the Maximum Muscle Report in 2018, competing in the NPC Pacific Island Championships Bikini Class where she was named the Heroes Champion.
According to a Hawaii News Now report, body camera footage of May 28 shows she had previously responded to Jerry Hanel’s home.
Their deaths deeply moved the chief and members of the rank-and-file who knew them.
Ballard, visibly upset, said at a news conference Sunday, “They were like my kids,” saying they had worked with her for five years at the receiving desk prior to her appointment as chief.
“On behalf of the men and women of the Honolulu Police Department, our deepest condolences go out to the families of Tiffany Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama,” she said.
She teared up as she said their names, paused to regain her composure and continued, “The HPD ohana grieves along with you and shares your loss.”
Officer Chad Morimoto, a motorcycle officer, was the most recent previous Honolulu officer to die in the line of duty. He died in 2012.