Police Gather in New York to Honor Fallen Officer at His Funeral

Police Gather in New York to Honor Fallen Officer at His Funeral

Thousands Crowd Queens Neighborhood to Pay Respects to Rafael Ramos, NYPD Officer Killed in Ambush Along With Wenjian Liu

By Michael Howard Saul in the Wall Street Journal

Thousands of police officers from around the country lined up Saturday for the funeral service of Rafael Ramos, one of the two New York City police officers killed last weekend.

Vice President Joe Biden , attending the service at Christ Tabernacle Church in Glendale, a working-class neighborhood of Queens, said “our hearts ache” and called the New York Police Department “probably the finest” in the world.

Mr. Ramos, 40 years old, was killed along with colleague Wenjian Liu as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn five days before Christmas. Mr. Liu’s funeral has yet to be scheduled as travel arrangements are made for family from overseas.

The officers’ killings exposed deep divisions in the city. Some police officers outside the church turned their backs when Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke at the funeral, symbolizing the widening rift that has emerged between him and the police force he oversees. Some union officials and others have accused the mayor of fostering an anti-police atmosphere in the city.

At the service, Mr. Biden called for unity and denounced the killings as an assault on the entire city. “When an assassin’s bullet targeted two officers, it targeted the city and it touched the soul of the entire nation,” he said.

“When you patrol the streets of New York, you circle the earth,” said Mr. Biden, touching on the diversity of the five boroughs. But he said he remained confident that New Yorkers would unite and find a way to bridge differences in the wake of the officers’ killings.

The officers were ambushed a week ago by a lone gunman who committed suicide a short time later. The alleged shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, said on social media that the officers’ deaths were retribution for Eric Garner of Staten Island and Michael Brown of Missouri, who died this summer in high-profile confrontations with police.

Speaking at Mr. Ramos’s funeral, Gov. Andrew Cuomo saluted the police department for protecting the rights of demonstrators. Protesters have taken to the streets in New York and around the country in recent months to denounce police practices.

“The NYPD protected the right of freedom of speech, even though they, themselves, were the target of false and abusive chants and tirades by some,” he said. “What a beautiful testament to their professionalism.”

Mr. de Blasio, looking tired as he spoke at the funeral, said the city has lost a hero. “On behalf of all 8.4 million New Yorkers, on behalf of all of us, I extend my condolences.”

The mayor’s remarks focused mostly on Mr. Ramos’s life, but he did speak about the role of law enforcement.

“Police officers are called peace officers because that’s what they do—they keep the peace,” Mr. de Blasio said. “They help make a place that otherwise would be torn with strife a place of peace. Officer Ramos put his life on the line every day so other New Yorkers could live in peace.”

Outside, as he spoke, a number of officers turned their backs in a sign of their disapproval of Mr. de Blasio.

When the mayor began his remarks, officers standing in the streets faced forward—toward the church and a large video screen outside. But after a section of officers in the middle of Myrtle Avenue—the broadest street here holding the most officers—turned their backs on the church, others soon followed suit.

By the end of the speech, nearly all officers immediately to the east of the church had their backs turned, and some civilians joined in the demonstration. Last weekend, before a news conference about the killings, officers also turned their backs on the mayor.

A spokesman for the mayor said after the funeral, “The Ramos and Liu families, our police department and our city are dealing with an unconscionable tragedy. Our sole focus is unifying this city and honoring the lives of our two police officers.”

Some of the people gathered outside the church said the demonstration was disrespectful, while others defended it.

Mr. Ramos’s casket, draped with the NYPD flag, was carried from the church to a waiting hearse as police saluted. Trumpets played taps, and moments later, helicopters flew overhead in what is called a missing-man formation.

After the salute, the trumpets played “America the Beautiful.” An officer standing near the church wiped her eyes with a tissue. The crowd stood silently, and an officer approached the two Ramos boys—Jaden, 13, and Justin, 19, both dressed in black suits with black shirts and black ties—and their mother, Maritza.

The officer hugged the woman, gave her the flag, then saluted the three of them. The family entered a limousine, which stood in front of the church as people filed out of the building.

The list of law-enforcement agencies and jurisdictions represented at the service was long: big cities like Boston and Washington, D.C.; nearby counties like Rockland, N.Y., and West Caldwell, N.J.; as well as farther-flung places such as Anderson, Ind., and Chattahoochee Hills, Ga.

“This is one of those things where it’s pivotal for all of us to be here,” said Matthew Rook, the Chattahoochee Hills police chief. “It shows support at a time that’s tumultuous.”

At the funeral, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said that both officers have been posthumously upgraded to the rank of detective first grade. In a tribute to Mr. Ramos, who was studying to become a lay minister, the commissioner designated him as an honorary department chaplain of the 84th precinct, prompting a standing ovation and round of applause.

Mr. Bratton said Mr. Ramos was “assassinated” because he represented the entire police department. He spoke passionately about the divisions in the city and his hope for unity.

“We don’t see each other—the police, the people who are angry at the police, the people who support us but want us to be better,” Mr. Bratton said, “even a madman who assassinated two men because all he could see was two uniforms, even though they were so much more.”

Mr. Bratton called on the city to “learn to see each other.”

Then, “when we see each other, we’ll heal,” he said. “We’ll heal as a department. We’ll heal as a city. We’ll heal as a country. And wouldn’t that be the ultimate, the ultimate honor for Officers Ramos and Liu, that their deaths helped us to all heal?”

—Adam Janos, Joe Jackson and Mark Morales contributed to this article.

The original link to this article with many images can be found at:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/fallen-nypd-officer-receives-inspectors-funeral-1419692781?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird