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Crowds of more than a thousand people gathered at Kamehameha Schools’ Bishop Memorial Chapel and outside Honolulu Police Department headquarters Saturday for final salutes to fallen police Officer Kaulike Kalama.
Kalama, 34, is remembered “as a local boy who loved Hawaii and serving his community as a police officer,” said Ohana Baptist Church pastor Wayne Surface, who spoke during a morning funeral on the Kapalama campus. The service was followed by a motorcade that took Kalama’s ashes past Honolulu Police Department headquarters on Beretania Street for a final roll call ceremony.
Surface described him as a “quiet hero” and “rock” whose strength supported those around him. His family knew him as a devoted husband to his wife, Kaohi, and father to his 14-year-old son, Kaumana. The McKinley High School graduate was an HPD officer for nine years.
Kalama and fellow police Officer Tiffany Enriquez, whose funeral was held Jan. 30, were gunned down Jan. 19 while responding to a call at a Hibiscus Drive residence near Diamond Head. Tenant Jerry J. “Jarda” Hanel, 69, shot and killed the two HPD officers, stabbed a neighbor with a garden tool and beat his landlord, Lois Cain, 77, before starting a fire that claimed seven homes. Hanel and Cain’s remains were found in the burned-out rubble.
On that day, Kalama voluntarily rushed to the Waikiki scene to help officers there even though it wasn’t his district. During an earlier candlelight vigil for Kalama, his coworkers recalled that even as he went into danger, he was reassuring other officers.
“He was right there in the front with his rifle to protect the officer that was fallen and his fellow officers as well. He was the kind of guy that just did what he was trained to do,” Surface said.
The deaths of Kalama and Enriquez brought the count of HPD officers who died in the line of duty over the years to 50. As many as 16 Honolulu police officers have been killed on the job by gunfire since 1903, but it had been nearly 17 years since the last such incident.
To mark the solemnity of the occasion, Gov. David Ige ordered state and U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Saturday at all state offices and agencies.
Surface said Kalama’s death moved fellow law enforcement officers across the world, but in life he was always humble.
“He was the kind of person that when he came into a situation, he didn’t have to say a lot because his expression, his smile, his aloha really said it all,” he said. “Everyone that spoke about him … all expressed the same thing about what a great man he was, what a great police officer he was, and how much he’ll be missed.”
Surface said Kalama was as dedicated to his family as he was to the force.
“He loved his family. He loved to go camping with them. He loved to play games with them. He was the Xbox champion of the family,” he said. “He was the organizer. He was the one that solved problems and took leadership.”
Surface said “KK” or “Like,” as his friends and family called him, would have been embarrassed by all the attention he was getting in the wake of the fatal shooting.
“He would not want all the focus to be on him. He would tell you that every police officer there that day was a hero; it just happened that two didn’t come home.”
That Kalama was special was evidenced by the throngs of well-wishers who gathered to say goodbye at his final roll call ceremony. Crowds were visibly moved as solo motorcycle officers escorted the vehicle carrying Kalama’s koa urn under a bridge of firetruck ladders while bagpipes played a mournful tune.
The motorcade stopped in front of HPD headquarters where a police dispatcher called out Kalama’s name in a traditional tribute. The silent reply led some observers to wipe away tears. A dispatcher thanked him for his service and concluded that it was the end of his watch.
Some of the ceremony was conducted in Hawaiian, a nod to Kalama’s heritage and a reminder that Hawaii had lost one of its own.
Kalama’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.
Tehaine Gabaysula, 14, one of the attendees lining the streets, said she came to honor Kalama, who was her mother’s classmate.
“He’s done so much for the community,” Gabyasula said. “My mom was real sad to hear that he died. I honestly feel really bad seeing all the officers here. But I feel very proud of the work that they do saving kids, saving families.”
Haylie-Anne Kimura, 16, who is a police officer’s daughter, said she attended Kalama’s final salute to honor his sacrifice.
“My dad knew him,” Kimura said. “It’s very hard to watch his friends get hurt. I really respect our officers.”
Raiden Rabanal, 9, woke up early Saturday morning to attend Kalama’s final salute. He also attended Enriquez’s vigil in January.
Though he did not know either police officer, his grandmother, Gloria Rabanal, said he has wanted to be a police officer since he was 4 years old and takes whatever opportunity he can to meet them.
Raiden Rabanal said he wants to be a police officer “so that I can protect our country and risk my life for saving other people’s lives.”
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The Honolulu Star-Advertiser did a Facebook Live outside the HPD headquarters for fallen officer Kaulike Kalama’s roll call ceremony. Watch it here:
Star-Advertiser reporter Mark Ladao contributed to this story.
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