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Mourners gather at wake for NYPD officer slain by gunman Officers salute de Blasio at slain officer’s wake
(about 4 hours later)
This post has been updated.This post has been updated.
Mourners have started to pay tribute to New York City police officer Wenjian Liu, who was ambushed, shot and killed last month in a patrol car alongside a fellow officer. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Chief William Bratton were saluted by officers as they entered the wake for a police officer who was ambushed, and killed last month in a patrol car alongside a fellow officer, according to The Associated Press.
Thousands of people are expected to attend Liu’s wake Saturday in Brooklyn. His funeral will be held Sunday. According to the funeral home where the services will take place, the surrounding streets will be closed and the funeral service will be broadcast on television screens outside. The show of respect at the wake for New York City police officer Wenjian Liu comes a week after many officers turned their backs on de Blasio as he spoke at the funeral for Liu’s partner, Officer Rafael Ramos.
Liu and Officer Rafael Ramos were killed execution-style while sitting in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street Dec. 20. Ismaaiyl Brinsley, the man police said killed the officers, posted a number of anti-police and anti-government messages online in the weeks and hours before the killings. Brinsley killed himself in a nearby subway station. Bratton pleaded with officers not to make political statements during the wake or funeral, telling the force that officers “stole the valor, honor, and attention that rightfully belonged to the memory of Detective Rafael Ramos’s life and sacrifice.”
The men were posthumously promoted to detective first grade. “I issue no mandates, and I make no threats of discipline, but I remind you that when you don the uniform of this department, you are bound by the tradition, honor and decency that go with it,” Bratton wrote in a message that was given to officers Friday, the AP reported.
As with Ramos’s funeral, which was held last month, thousands of police officers from around the country are expected to travel to New York to pay their respects to Liu. Morgan Johnston, a spokesman for JetBlue, said the airline has flown 1,146 officers from around the country to New York for Liu’s funeral Sunday. Johnston said the airline worked with a partner airline he would not name to bring Liu’s family from China to New York. Thousands of people attended Liu’s wake Saturday in Brooklyn, waiting in a cold rain to pay their respects. His funeral will be held Sunday and will be broadcast on television screens outside.
Liu and Ramos were killed execution-style while sitting in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street Dec. 20. Ismaaiyl Brinsley, the man police said killed the officers, posted a number of anti-police and anti-government messages online in the weeks and hours before the killings. Brinsley killed himself in a nearby subway station.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) attended the wake two days after his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, died. Cuomo said he has a hole in his heart after the loss of his father, whom he misses already.
As with Ramos’s funeral, thousands of police officers from around the country traveled to New York to pay their respects to Liu. Morgan Johnston, a spokesman for JetBlue, said the airline has flown 1,146 officers from around the country to New York for Liu’s funeral Sunday. Johnston said the airline worked with a partner airline he would not name to bring Liu’s family from China to New York.
Liu, 32, immigrated to the United States from China in 1994 and is thought to be the first Chinese-American officer killed in the line of duty in New York. His funeral will be the first for a fallen NYPD officer that will blend a police funeral with traditional Chinese customs. According to The New York Times, Buddhist monks will pray and people will burn ceremonial money and other objects in front of a photo of Liu. He is survived by a wife, whom he married two months before he was killed.Liu, 32, immigrated to the United States from China in 1994 and is thought to be the first Chinese-American officer killed in the line of duty in New York. His funeral will be the first for a fallen NYPD officer that will blend a police funeral with traditional Chinese customs. According to The New York Times, Buddhist monks will pray and people will burn ceremonial money and other objects in front of a photo of Liu. He is survived by a wife, whom he married two months before he was killed.
He and Ramos were posthumously promoted to detective first grade.
FBI Director James Comey will attend the funeral at the behest of President Obama. Vice President Joe Biden attended Ramos’s funeral.FBI Director James Comey will attend the funeral at the behest of President Obama. Vice President Joe Biden attended Ramos’s funeral.
The deaths of the officers exacerbated tensions between police and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, which had been strained since de Blasio took office a year ago. Police accused de Blasio of siding with protesters after the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of the police in recent months, including after a grand jury chose not to indict a New York City police officer in the death of Eric Garner. Garner, unarmed and suspected of selling loose cigarettes, died after an officer put him in a chokehold on a Staten Island sidewalk. De Blasio has also spoken publicly about how he and his wife have told their biracial son to be cautious when dealing with police. The mayor was greeted with a number of boos at a police academy graduation ceremony last week. The deaths of the officers exacerbated tensions between police and de Blasio, which had been strained since de Blasio took office a year ago. Police accused de Blasio of siding with protesters after the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of the police in recent months, including after a grand jury chose not to indict a New York City police officer in the death of Eric Garner. Garner, unarmed and suspected of selling loose cigarettes, died after an officer put him in a chokehold on a Staten Island sidewalk. De Blasio has also spoken publicly about how he and his wife have told their biracial son to be cautious when dealing with police. The mayor was greeted with a number of boos at a police academy graduation ceremony last week.
Thousands of officers turned their backs on de Blasio as he spoke during Ramos’s funeral on Dec. 27. New York Police Commissioner William Bratton said officers “stole the valor, honor, and attention that rightfully belonged to the memory of Detective Rafael Ramos’s life and sacrifice” and urged police not to repeat the act at Liu’s funeral.
“I issue no mandates, and I make no threats of discipline, but I remind you that when you don the uniform of this department, you are bound by the tradition, honor and decency that go with it,” Bratton wrote in a message that was given to officers Friday, the Associated Press reported.
De Blasio and Bratton walked into Liu’s wake Saturday afternoon without incident.
The deaths of the officers also exacerbated tensions between the police, in New York and nationwide, and federal officials. The Obama administration has called for reforms in police departments after the recent deaths of unarmed black men and boys during encounters with police officers in several cities, including Ferguson, Mo., and Cleveland. Speaking on “Meet the Press” last month, Bratton, when asked about how President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have responded to the deaths, said that police “feel they are under attack from the federal government at the highest levels. So, that’s something we need to understand also, this sense of perception that becomes a reality.”The deaths of the officers also exacerbated tensions between the police, in New York and nationwide, and federal officials. The Obama administration has called for reforms in police departments after the recent deaths of unarmed black men and boys during encounters with police officers in several cities, including Ferguson, Mo., and Cleveland. Speaking on “Meet the Press” last month, Bratton, when asked about how President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have responded to the deaths, said that police “feel they are under attack from the federal government at the highest levels. So, that’s something we need to understand also, this sense of perception that becomes a reality.”