Police officers complain Some Honolulu police officers were outraged over the removal of the phrase "so help me God" from their oath of office, saying the change infringes on their constitutional freedoms.
about removal of
‘God’ from oath
They believe the change
infringes on freedomsBy Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com"It takes away our freedom to worship," said Leland Cadoy, the Honolulu Police Department's 2002 Police Officer of the Year.
Officer Ramona Loo said officers should have the chance to recite an alternate phrase.
"They're taking away choice. If we take away choice, we revert back to the way the country was before we had constitutional freedoms," Loo said.
Police Chief Lee Donohue decided earlier this week to remove the language from the oath in response to a complaint from Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church. HPD was swamped with thousands of e-mails and dozens of calls protesting the move.
Police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said she has heard that a few other officers have expressed a similar view as Cadoy and Loo, but she does not know if it represents the majority of officers' opinion.
Cadoy said he agreed with Donohue's decision and stressed that his complaint was with the Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church. And Cadoy noted that the change does not interfere with his duties.
But he said he feels removing "God" from the oath to protect the rights of citizens who believe in other deities or no religion harms those who do believe in God.
"It's a double standard because we're afraid of offending people," Cadoy said.
Cadoy would like to see the issue taken to a vote.
Neither officer has asked Donohue to reconsider. Both say they are expressing their individual views and are not aware of any organized movement to try to keep "so help me God" in the oath.
