Ex-HPD officer Charles Duarte

Advertiser Staff

Charles Gomes Duarte, retired assistant police chief and former security director of GTE Hawaiian Tel, died Tuesday in Honolulu. He was 85.

Duarte, who lived in Kailua, started his law enforcement career as a Honolulu Police Department beat patrolman in 1942. He became a captain in 1965 and was appointed deputy police chief in 1970.

In January 1974, he was awarded the Gold Medal of Valor after he confronted an armed man who was holding hostages. Duarte was named Father of the Year in the field of law enforcement in 1966.

Duarte retired from the Police Department in April 1974. He became director of security for the GTE in 1975 and worked there through 1982. He served on the Honolulu Police Commission from 1976 to 1981.

He is survived by his wife, Beatrice; daughters, Yvonne Cashman and Charlotte Hite; son, Charles "Chuck"; and five grandchildren.

Visitation 9:30 to 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Anthony's Church in Kailua, Mass 11 a.m.; burial 2 p.m. at Diamond Head Memorial Park. Aloha attire. Donations to Alzheimer's Association, 1050 Ala Moana, Building D-15, Honolulu, HI 96814; or to St. Anthony's Church, 114 Makawao St., Kailua, HI 96734.