Members of the Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church have criticized the Honolulu Police Department for putting religious content on its Web site. HPD removes religious
content from its Web siteBy Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.comThe group's request to remove a biblical passage and poems containing religious content comes less than a week after the organization assailed the Honolulu Fire Department for a firefighter's prayer that included the word "God."
Michelle Yu, Honolulu police spokeswoman, said the biblical passage and links to a police officer's poems were removed yesterday from the Web site's main page.
Yu said officials from HPD will be asking the city corporation counsel to look into the matter.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue, Mitch Kahle demanded HPD remove "all content that is of a religious nature" from its Web site because it violates the U.S. Constitution.
The Web site included a passage from the Book of Matthew in a section that honors police officers who were killed in the line of duty.
The biblical passage reads, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
Kahle said the Web site also includes poems that contain religious content written by police officer Eddie Croom. One of the Web pages includes an excerpt Croom wrote that reads, "Truth, strength and conviction are the ideals that I may give, service dedication and commitment are the tenets by which I live, I have taken an oath of service by this creed I will stand, obey the laws of my God and to protect the rights of man."
"Police officers do not 'obey the laws of God,' they obey the laws of government," said Kahle in the letter.
"Officer Croom may have written the poems, but it is nonetheless improper for HPD to publish religious poetry on its official Web site using taxpayer-funded resources, such as computer systems and software and Web servers."
Yu said, "We will be waiting for their opinion."
Kahle said he was informed by one of the members of the Hawaii Citizens for Separation of State and Church of the religious content on HPD's Web site a day after the organization demanded that HFD recall copies of a fire safety guide because of the firefighter's prayer.
Honolulu Police Department
