Just 1-1/2 hours before the scheduled closure Monday of South Beretania Street for the Honolulu Police Department’s Police Week march, the street was shut down due to a piece of military ordnance.

Police shut down the roadway at 3:55 p.m., causing rush-hour traffic problems, and the front of HPD headquarters was evacuated, said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu.

But the timing was purely coincidental and completely unrelated to the procession.

Sgt. Ron Taira of the Specialized Services Division’s bomb squad said there was “no malice intended” when someone, helping the family of a deceased person to clear out that individual’s Honolulu home, turned in a Claymore mine at the police station.

The bomb squad initially was told it was ammunition, but discovered instead it was a Vietnam-era mine, roughly 5 or 6 by 10 inches with the words “Front Toward Enemy.” It was found to be inert, Taira said.

The bomb squad X-rayed the ordnance, and the Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal picked it up.

The station was given the all-clear, and the roadway was reopened at 4:50 p.m. The HPD march, which included other law enforcement and military personnel, went on as scheduled.

Taira said it is a common occurrence that family members discover in the home ordnance taken as souvenirs during World War II as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars.

HPD’s bomb squad receives 15 to 20 calls a year, which represents 60 percent of its calls, for such cases.

“At least 20 percent are live,” he said.

Taira reminds the public, “Do not touch it.” Its contents could be unstable, and there have been cases on the mainland where people have died from munitions stored in the home for decades, he said.

Instead they should call 911 and a patrol officer will respond. The bomb squad will be called in to safely remove the item from the home.