Slain Honolulu officer honored by colleagues and community

HONOLULU (AP) — Law enforcement officers from around the country gathered in Honolulu for a ceremony to honor one of two officers killed while responding to a call in which a suspect and his landlord died and nearby homes were leveled by fire.

Officer Tiffany Enriquez was memorialized Thursday by her family, members of the public and police officers and emergency personnel who formed a “thin blue line” at the Honolulu Police Department headquarters as part of Enriquez’s “end of watch” ceremony.

Enriquez, 38, was a seven-year veteran of the Honolulu police assigned to Waikiki.

The Air Force veteran was the first female officer to die in the line of duty in Hawaii when she was fatally shot Jan. 19 along with Officer Kaulike Kalama.

Authorities say Jaroslav Hanel, 69, shot the officers and killed landlord Lois Cain in a suspected landlord-tenant dispute. Police said he also attacked and stabbed another woman before a fire started in which he is believed to have perished and seven homes were destroyed.

Details of Kalama’s services had not yet been publicly announced.

The “thin blue line” is an expression of solidarity and pride by police officers and first responders, who lined the street near the police station.

Flower petals were dropped from two helicopters as a motorcade led by bike officers escorted a hearse carrying Enriquez to the front of the headquarters.

A dispatcher read out a final roll call over a loudspeaker: “Officer Tiffany Victoria Enriquez. End of watch: Jan. 19, 2020 at 9:53 hours.”

Large crowds lined the streets and gathered at Diamond Head Mortuary and chapel for a memorial service.

Enriquez’s boyfriend and fellow Honolulu police officer Jonathan Daniel Baba noted she died while attempting to assist the woman who had been stabbed.

“On the day she was taken from us, she courageously entered a dangerous and volatile situation to rescue a stranger,” Baba said.

Family spokesman Sgt. Chris Kim said Enriquez’s loved ones were touched by the outpouring of support from the community.

“They just want to express their sincere gratitude to the community, the police department, to Hawaii, to the nation and to the world just for the amount of love and support they’ve received,” he said.

Police Chief Susan Ballard presented Enriquez’s three daughters with a Honolulu Police Department flag and saluted each of them.

One of Enriquez’s daughters, Jazmyn, remembered her mother as “fearless, resilient, strong.”

“Whatever she did, she did out of pure love. There was never a time she wouldn’t be there for you,” she said. “My momma was my best friend.”
Source: Hawaii Tribune Herald