ROOKIE POLICE OFFICERS
Eric Lorica won't be lured by the golden hook -- higher pay and low cost of living -- like dozens of police officers leaving for the Pacific Northwest.
After one year on the beat, the "local boy" has no complaints. "I love it," said the 28-year-old patrol officer. "I love my job and I love the people."
And the pay seems to suit him just fine.
Officer Susan Klimek, who patrols Waikiki, says the thought of moving did cross her mind. "I have two children, and it's not enough to live in Hawaii," she said. "We're not asking for something outrageous. I'm just living paycheck to paycheck."
Klimek and Lorica are members of the Honolulu Police Department's 127th recruit class, featured by the Star-Bulletin since graduation early last year. Most have been assigned to patrol units throughout Oahu; seven are assigned to the jail cells.
Rookie year for the 23 men and seven women in the class was during unsettling times: Last year, HPD had a new chief, eight police shootings, recruitment from mainland departments, elimination of overtime pay, accusations of wrongdoing by the police union president and the city settling a police brutality case.
Members of Class 127 reported being questioned by the public regarding the shootings.
Two of the 30 members in the class resigned from department within six months. One said police work was a "culture shock."
Lorica was able to do what he always wanted to do: Help people.
One of Lorica's most valuable assets, being assigned to the Kalihi, is his Filipino upbringing.
The victims and witnesses are sometimes immigrants and they can't speak English to tell police officers what happened. Many crimes may even go unreported, Lorica said.
Raised in Kailua by immigrant parents from the Philippines, Lorica can understand and relate to the younger and older, traditional generation. He tries to offer people guidance, advice and resources. He also makes himself available to them at all times, especially to the youth.
"When people call, they're calling for assistance, and it's my duty and opportunity to help them out whether its a domestic argument, preventing them from beating each other up, giving them options for counseling," Lorica said.
Police work has been everything Lorica expected and more. Before as a youth counselor, he could only help teens. Now, he can help everyone who needs it.
"He's real community and service-minded," said Lt. Frank Pugliese, who has supervised Lorica. "He relates well with the public. He doesn't use police power until he has to. He doesn't have a chip on his shoulder and doesn't think he's the baddest guy."
Pugliese said a lot of patrol work is dealing with people, which Lorica does well at. He estimates patrol work is 90 percent human-relations skills.
"In recruit school, they come out book smart," Pugliese said. "But there's no booklet that handles every situation. You have to be street and book smart."
Sgt. Robert Imoto, class training instructor, agreed.
"You have to have a strong sense of right and wrong you have to do the honorable thing," Imoto said. "You need the strength to do the right thing and stick to your guns even if its not well-liked, like tagging people, arresting the husband in a domestic or protecting the suspect as well as the victims. Nobody likes tagging people, it's uncomfortable."
Imoto added that integrity is something the officers "just got to have," and cannot be learned. And Lorica and his classmates have the integrity. But they also have a lot to learn in the coming years.
"The minute they think they learned it all, they'll make a mistake," Imoto said. "So hopefully that philosophy has stuck with them."
Pugliese said the four-month field training program, implemented in the mid-'80s, has helped new officers.
When he graduated from the academy in 1979, the department put new officers by themselves in Waikiki and downtown, the day after handing them badges.
"On your first day, your knees are shaking when your just giving a ticket," Pugliese said.
With field training, new officers are placed with a veteran officer and respond to cases together. This gives new officers a look before being thrown into the streets.
Veteran officers say the rookies have a lot to look forward to -- good and bad.
