Video by Allison Schaefers and Craig T. Kojima / aschaefers@staradvertiser.com and ckojima@staradvertiser.com
Mourners gathered Thursday for the funeral service and end of watch ceremony for fallen Honolulu Police Department officer Tiffany-Victoria B. Enriquez.
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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Police officers, top, lined up along the street Thursday before heading toward the Diamond Head Memorial Park chapel to pay their respects to fallen officer Tiffany Enriquez.
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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Officers saluted Thursday as the hearse carrying the body of Tiffany Enriquez passed in front of Honolulu Police Department headquarters on South Beretania Street.
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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
The funeral procession, passed under flags held up by Honolulu Fire Department ladder trucks and made its way toward the Honolulu Police Department headquarters on South Beretania Street.
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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Officers, above, filed into the chapel where Enriquez’s funeral was held.
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Fallen Honolulu police officer Tiffany-Victoria B. Enriquez, Hawaii’s first female police officer to be killed in the line of duty, was remembered Thursday as a warm person with an infectious smile that brought people together.
Judging from the attendance at Thursday’s funeral service and end-of-watch ceremony, that legacy will transcend her death. Mourners from all over the country, including officers and first responders from as far away as Boston, California, Washington and New York, gathered to say goodbye in what was one of the most moving tributes to a fallen officer ever in Honolulu.
Enriquez, 38, was fatally shot Jan. 19 along with Honolulu police officer Kaulike Kalama at a Diamond Head home where a handyman is alleged to also have killed himself and his landlord, attacked another resident in the home and started a fire that destroyed five homes and damaged several others.
Enriquez and Kalama brought the count of HPD officers who died in the line of duty to 50. As many as 16 Honolulu police officers have been killed in the line of duty by shooting since 1903, but it’s been nearly 17 years between the last Honolulu police shooting and the Jan. 19 fatal shootings. It’s been 56 years since the last double homicide by shooting of Honolulu police officers in the same incident.
Officers and first responders marked the solemnity of the occasion by forming a “thin blue line” around Enriquez. First, they formed a single file line and walked one-by-one into the Diamond Head Mortuary to pay their respects to Enriquez, who was assigned to Waikiki and had spent seven years with HPD.
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Later in the day, after attending a moving celebration of life ceremony at Diamond Head Memorial Park, law enforcement and first responders lined the street fronting the Honolulu Police Department Headquarters on Beretania Street to witness Enriquez’s end-of-watch ceremony. The “thin blue line” is an expression of solidarity and pride by law enforcement and first responders who recognize that they are part of only a very few who are responsible for holding back chaos.
Though there were tears at the celebration of life, which included remarks from Enriquez’s friends and family members, it was mostly upbeat. Speakers recalled that the seven-year veteran of HPD was an outstanding officer who had previously served with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee. She was also a U.S. Air Force Reserves veteran and champion bodybuilder. Despite all those accomplishments, she is most remembered as a loving family woman who had three daughters, a grandson and a second grandchild on the way.
Enriquez’s middle daughter, Jasmine, said, “I know my mom wouldn’t want us to sit in depression and sadness, because that was never who she was. She was fearless, resilient, strong, determined, motivated, courageous. Just as a person in herself, she was perfect. … Whether it was being a mother, a wife, a girlfriend, a friend, there was never a time that she wouldn’t be there for you. My mama was my best friend.”
Her boyfriend, fellow HPD officer Jonathan Daniel Baba, said she was there for her co-workers, too.
“She took great pride in being a Honolulu police officer as she performed the duties of her job without hesitation. The type of reputation that she developed over the years was as a fearless and compassionate, hard worker,” Baba said.
Pastor Cal Chinen, senior pastor at Moanalua Gardens Missionary Church, shared that Enriquez also was a woman of great faith, who had one of her favorite verses, from Proverbs 31:25, tattooed on her arm.
“‘She is clothed with strength and dignity.’ Indeed, that is how she lived her life, and that is how she ended her life,” Chinen said.
HPD Sgt. Chris Kim, who was asked to serve as a family spokesman, expressed their gratitude for the support that they’ve received.
“There’s a lot of love and support coming from around the nation and around the world,” Kim said. “We had the New York Yankees send flowers to the Police Department and condolences from as far as Guam. Although it was a tragic incident, it’s definitely brought the community of Hawaii together. … We only hope and pray that the community continues to show the love and support for our officers out there on a daily basis.”
Judging from the community’s response at Enriquez’s end-of-watch ceremony, it just might.
There were only solemn faces as the motorcade, led by solo bike officers, escorted a hearse carrying Enriquez to the front of the headquarters where a police dispatcher called out her name. When Enriquez didn’t respond, many observers cried. A dispatcher thanked her for her service and concluded that it was the end of Enriquez’s watch.
Enriquez’s family got out of their cars and were escorted to the middle of the street in front of police headquarters, where rows of law enforcement officers and community members shared their aloha. Two helicopters dropped flower petals.
After the ceremony, Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard broke her formal stance.
She waved and blew a kiss to Enriquez and her family. During a Jan. 19 press conference, a visibly moved Ballard had said Enriquez and Kalama “were like my kids. They were with me for five years at the receiving desk when I was a major.”