Editor’s Note: Officer Chad Morimoto was the 14th Honolulu Police Department solo bike officer killed while on duty since 1923. A story on Page A-1 on Tuesday said he was the 13th.
 

The third Honolulu Police Department officer killed while on duty in the past year was remembered Monday as a fun-loving and good-natured man who was always smiling.

Officer Chad Morimoto, 39, died from injuries after his motorcycle apparently slid from under him during a VIP escorttraining exercise in Mililani at about 11:40 a.m. Monday.

Maj. Kurt Kendro, Morimoto’s Traffic Division supervisor, described him as "a hell of a good guy who walked around with a contagious smile."

Whether in the squad room or out on the road with his fellow solo bike patrol officers, the mood was always brighter if Morimoto was around, he said.

"He loved to ride his bike and never complained about anything," Kendro said.

Tenari Maafala, president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, said in a phone interview that he had worked with Morimoto on several occasions and liked what he saw in the young man.

"He definitely was a nice guy, happy-go-lucky and a prankster," Maafala said. "He loved his wife and kids. He was always happy and he was always smiling. It’s a very sad day for our police family."

The crash occurred under sunny skies Monday on Lanikuhana Avenue in front of Mililani District Park.

Police investigators are still looking into the details of the crash, but Police Chief Louis Kealoha said it is believed Morimoto’s motorcycle slid from under him and struck a curb.

Morimoto was taken in critical condition to Pali Momi Medical Center, where he died.

Police closed Lanikuhana Avenue between Keaoopua Street and Kuahelani Avenue for more than three hours as investigators combed the area.

The motorcycle team was practicing how to escort a motorcade at the time.

At a news conference, Kealoha described the exercise as "basic escort training." How fast Morimoto’s BMW R1200 RT was traveling and other details of the crash are part of an investigation by HPD’s Vehicular Homicide Division, he said.

There were several reports of officers on motorcycles speeding and weaving through Mililani on Monday morning.

"All of those types of questions are related to the investigation," Kealoha said.

Morimoto first joined HPD in April 2004. After a number of years as a patrol officer in Waikiki, he became a motorcycle patrolman in 2010, Kealoha said.

Morimoto, who lived in Salt Lake, leaves a wife, a daughter and a son. His family had roots on Maui,and his mother was flying in from the Valley Isle to be with his family, HPD officials said. His father died in March.

Morimoto was the 14th HPD solo bike officer killed since 1923 and the sixth since 1986.