KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
New police officer Sharie Souza last night took the oath of office, which no longer includes "so help me God."
HPD recruits Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue mentioned the word "God" 11 times during his speech at last night's graduation ceremonies for the department's 141st police recruit class.
take new oath
Chief Donohue says police are
obligated to follow the constitutionBy Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comIronically, it was a speech focused on why the department was taking out the phrase "so help me God" from its oath, and why the 22 new police recruits who were reciting the new oath for the first time should not feel like they were any less of a police officer because of it.
"The question is: Do we do what is right or do we do what is popular?" Donohue said. "Tonight we will do what is right. As police officers, we have no other choice.
"As you move on in your career, I encourage you to base all of your actions in life on what is right."
The department's oath of office was challenged last month by Mitch Kahle, head of the organization Hawaii Citizens for Separation of State and Church.
Kahle argued that the oath did not conform to the oath for public law enforcement officers as specified in the state constitution, and therefore the police department oath should be changed.
Though reluctant, Donohue agreed, drawing a number of angry responses from people about the decision -- many of whom felt the police department should have put up a fight to protect their oath.
Last night, Donohue explained the department's logic.
"Have we 'caved in' to a majority of opinion?" he said. "The answer is no! ... The majority of the thousands of e-mail received at our department has urged us not to delete the phrase 'so help me God.' And yet our state constitution mandates that we must use the oath as written in the state constitution. ... As officers of the law, we must also obey the law."
For the first time, graduating Honolulu police officers ended their oath with the words, "to the best of my ability" -- a literary difference that new officers said didn't change why they chose to wear a badge in the first place.
"I joined to make a difference, to try and give something back," said officer Brian Blackwell.
"I don't think it changes anything about the job we have to do, which is serving the community."
Honolulu Police Department
