A Walk on the Seedy Side

If you’ve never visited the tiny museum hidden in the Honolulu Police Department’s headquarters, you’re missing out on a walk through Hawaii’s wild side.

The HPD Law Enforcement Museum is filled with more than a century’s worth of police history, both the tools of the trade—vintage uniforms, sidearms, surveillance equipment—and the paraphernalia of the bad guys—Saturday night specials, cock-fighting equipment, even a real still used to brew okolehau (an 80-proof liquor made from the root of the ti plant).

photos: Michael Keany

As a journalist, I’m fascinated by the scrapbooks filled with floridly written accounts of crimes and scandal, each story brimming with colorful details you rarely get in today’s dry, just-the-facts reporting. In a story of a former police officer slain by his exotic dancer ex-wife (stage name: Gina, the Italian Volcano), the reporter describes the crime scene thusly: “His husky body crowded her cramped, perfumed dressing room.” Shades of Raymond Chandler.

The photographs in these old newspaper stories, too, were over the top. The police of the day apparently had no problem letting photographers right into crime scenes, resulting in sensational images of mayhem. The caption for this photo of a gangland-style double murder starts off, “The legs of the victims are shown in the back seat of the death car.” Hmm, maybe we’re better off nowadays not seeing these kinds of things on our newspaper front pages.

If any of this sounds intriguing, the Honolulu Police Museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for individuals and groups. Guided tours are available Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. except holidays. 801 South Beretania Street, www.honolulupd.org/museum/index.htm, 529-3351.