Members of the Hawaii Police Department’s 84th Recruit Class received their badges Wednesday morning during a brief ceremony attended by about 90 friends and relatives.
Members of the Hawaii Police Department’s 84th Recruit Class received their badges Wednesday morning during a brief ceremony attended by about 90 friends and relatives.
The ceremony was a substitute for a larger luncheon ceremony that was canceled because of Tropical Storm Madeline. Knowing friends and family, including some from the mainland, would be disappointed if the ceremony was called off altogether, the Police Department’s training staff made last-minute preparations to conduct a shorter ceremony earlier in the day to allow everyone time to return to safety before the storm intensified.
During the ceremony, Chief Harry Kubojiri issued the reaffirmation oath to the recruits, and class president Joshua Willing made brief remarks. The highlight was when someone special to each recruit pinned on that officer’s badge.
Two recruits received special recognition for excellence during the first phase of training. They were class vice president Kamuela Akana, who excelled in firearms training, and class secretary/treasurer Kyung Yu, who excelled in academic training.
The recruits, who just completed six months of intensive training, now will undergo four months of on-the-job field training with veteran police officers before they are qualified to work alone.