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Wenjian Liu funeral: New York honours shot policeman | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Thousands of police officers and other mourners have turned out in New York for the funeral of a policeman shot dead in his patrol car last month. | |
Wenjian Liu, a son of Chinese migrants, was killed with his fellow policeman Rafael Ramos on 20 December by a gunman with a grievance against the police. | |
He is being honoured with a Buddhist ceremony, followed by a police tribute. | |
Frictions between the police and the mayor of New York surfaced at Ramos' funeral a week ago. | |
Many rank-and-file members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) resent Mayor Bill de Blasio's apparent sympathy for anti-police protesters this winter and turned their back when he spoke from a video screen at the first funeral. | |
Patrick Yoes, a national secretary with the 328,000-member Fraternal Order of Police, said before the new funeral: "Across this country, we seem to be under attack in the law enforcement profession, and the message to take away from this is: We are public servants. We are not public enemies." | |
New York police commissioner Bill Bratton has urged officers to refrain from any further "act of disrespect", saying in a memo, "A hero's funeral is about grieving, not grievance." | |
'City heartbroken' | |
Mayor de Blasio told the funeral service: "All of our city is heartbroken today." | |
Liu, 32, had lost his life while fighting for "all that is decent and good", he said. He paid tribute to a "young man who came here from China at the age of 12 in search of the American dream". | |
Funeral arrangements had been delayed so relatives from China could travel to New York. | |
A small vigil was also held on Saturday in Chinatown where community members gathered to burn pieces of paper in honour of Liu, in keeping with Chinese tradition. | |
The two policemen were shot following a wave of demonstrations over killings of unarmed black men by white police officers, beginning in the Missouri town of Ferguson last summer. | The two policemen were shot following a wave of demonstrations over killings of unarmed black men by white police officers, beginning in the Missouri town of Ferguson last summer. |
There was anger in New York after a grand jury decided not to press charges against a white police officer over the death of unarmed black man Eric Garner, who was placed in a chokehold while being restrained by police officers. | There was anger in New York after a grand jury decided not to press charges against a white police officer over the death of unarmed black man Eric Garner, who was placed in a chokehold while being restrained by police officers. |
The man who shot Ramos and Liu, African-American Ismaaiyl Brinsley, killed himself in a subway station as police were closing in. | The man who shot Ramos and Liu, African-American Ismaaiyl Brinsley, killed himself in a subway station as police were closing in. |
Brinsley had a history of violence and mental instability. Before attacking the police officers, he had shot and injured his girlfriend, police said. | Brinsley had a history of violence and mental instability. Before attacking the police officers, he had shot and injured his girlfriend, police said. |
On the day of the shooting, he went on social media to say he was planning to kill police officers. | On the day of the shooting, he went on social media to say he was planning to kill police officers. |
Resentment | |
Shortly after the policemen were shot, the head of the city's largest police union, Patrick Lynch, lashed out at the liberal mayor, saying there was "blood on many hands". | |
More than 20,000 officers attended Ramos' funeral on 27 December, and many turned their backs on Mr de Blasio. | |
On Sunday, one retired NYPD officer, John Mangan, stood across the street from the funeral home with a sign that read, "God Bless the NYPD. Dump de Blasio." | |
However, George Breedy, a lieutenant with the St Charles Parish Sheriff's Department in Louisiana, said he had no plans to protest against Mr de Blasio, calling the rift between officers and the mayor a "local issue". | |
"We're here to pay respect to the officers," he said. |