Served from October 17, 1924 to January 31, 1965

Alfred K. Karratti joined the police department on October 17, 1924, under the elected Sheriff David K. Trask. He was assigned to the Downtown Honolulu district, which included Chinatown, as a patrol officer. His career spanned 40 years until his retirement on January 31, 1965. He earned the reputation as a good police officer. However, he is most remembered as the designer of the current Honolulu Police Department badge.

Prior to 1932, the reorganization of the Honolulu Police Department under the Police Commission and a Chief of Police, the badge design worn by officers included puloulou sticks and the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii. After the 1932 reorganization, Chief William A. Gabrielson adopted the plain seven-pointed star design patterned after the badge of the Berkeley Police Department where Chief Gabrielson had come from.

Sergeant Karratti missed the Hawaiian elements that were part of the old badge. He decided to develop his own design to restore the Hawaiian elements into a modern badge design. He restored the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii to the heart of the badge, which reestablished the link between the present and the past and the values embodied by the puloulou sticks and Malama Hoe Kanawai, the Law of the Splintered Paddle.

In addition, Sergeant Karratti incorporated symbolic representations surrounding the Coat of Arms of Hawaii’s bountiful flora. The overall design has withstood the test of time to become an iconic symbol of the Honolulu Police Department around the world.

Inducted May 15, 2015