Outpouring of support for grieving HPD
The names of Tiffany Enriquez and Kaulike Kalama were added Wednesday to the Honolulu Police Department’s “Roll of Honor” plaque at the main police headquarters, joining 48 other officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Just below the plaque is a growing array of orchid lei, ti leaves, roses, anthuriums and maile lei that surround framed photos of Enriquez, 38, and Kalama, 34.
Both were shot dead Sunday as they responded to a landlord-tenant dispute on Hibiscus Drive at the base of Diamond Head. Seven homes were destroyed in a fire that followed.
The growing memorial includes heartfelt notes, letters and drawings from children thanking Enriquez and Kalama for their service. Many of the offerings were left by fellow officers, who have been especially hard-hit by the loss of Enriquez and Kalama.
A second memorial continued to grow at the police substation in Waikiki. Several buildings were lit up in blue Wednesday, including Honolulu Hale, the IBM building and Aloha Tower, to honor the slain officers.
“The amount of outpouring of support from the community has just been phenomenal,” said Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard at a Police Commission meeting Wednesday.
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“HFD (Honolulu Fire Department), amazing job standing side by side with us sifting through the rubble trying to look for remains, along with FBI, who was invaluable,” Ballard said. “They’ve supported us and have continued to support us.”
Ballard also thanked The Queen’s Medical Center, where officers gathered on the day of the shooting to mourn. “There was officer after officer there, and not once did they (Queen’s) have any complaints or anything. … They just showed every family and every officer there aloha.”
She thanked the Department of Emergency Management, chaplains and dispatchers. “They were the ones who took this initial call.”
“The Hawaii Bankers Association has stepped forward and … every single branch of every single bank in the state is going to be a collection point for the officers (for) anybody who wants to donate,” Ballard said. “The list just keeps going on. … This can only happen in Hawaii, this kind of support for the police department.”
Ballard also spoke of Enriquez’s three daughters, ages 22, 17 and 11.
“Tiffany’s family came to talk today. I had a chance to talk with the daughters,” Ballard said. “Amazing job she did raising those daughters. … They actually talked to the officers who were at the scene who were with their mother.”
Kalama was remembered by David Tanuvasa and Neal Takamori, the McKinley High School head football coach and athletic director in 2003 when Kalama played linebacker for the Tigers.
Kalama earned honorable mention on the 2002 Honolulu Star-Bulletin All-State team. He was also a member of McKinley’s state mixed canoe paddling championship team in 2003.
“He was such a tremendous individual,” Takamori said. “He was just a good all-around kid, the kind that you want for your son … We had visions of him going away to college and stuff like that, but he decided he wanted to stay home and be of service. That’s why he joined the force. He was always trying to help out.”
“Kaulike was a humble leader,” Tanuvasa said. “Very quiet, but someone who people respected.”
“On the field, he was like an assistant coach.”
“One time, we were playing Roosevelt and they had a very talented quarterback. I think it was Chad Kapanui. I asked Kaulike to man up on this guy and that if we can shut him down, we’ll win the game. It was challenging. The QB was pretty nifty. For the most part, Kaulike won the battle. If he didn’t we probably wouldn’t have won. We did win.”