Staff Writer
Wenjian
Liu, one of the NYPD officers shot by a man vowing to avenge the deaths of
Michael Brown and Eric Garner, was honored at his funeral held on January 4.
Numerous police officers from New York and from across the country were in
attendance to pay their respects. Liu, along with Officer Rafael Ramos, was
shot and killed while sitting in a police car in Brooklyn on December 20. The
shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, had a history of mental illnesses and arrests.
Brinsley voiced his opinions of Brown and Garner on social media. Hours before
the murders took place Brinsley posted a picture of a silver handgun with the
caption, “I’m putting wings on pigs today. They take one of ours, let’s take
two of theirs.” After the shooting, Brinsley committed suicide in a nearby
subway station, and a silver handgun matching the Instagram picture was found.
Officer Ryan Anderson of Berkeley, California says, “This isn’t the type of
killing that we can accept. To have an officer killed sitting in their car,
that’s difficult to accept.” Garner and Brown’s families also condemn this
shooting in retaliation. Esaw Garner said, “My husband was not a violent man,
so we do not want any violence connected to his name.”
At
the funerals of Ramos and Liu, many officers turned their backs on New York
Mayor Bill de Blasio, despite police commissioner William Bratton telling them
not to. Police officers are outraged that de Blasio has not been acting to help
protect them, and believe that he has indirectly contributed to the deaths of
Liu and Ramos by supporting protests following the deaths of Garner and Brown. NYPD
Detective Camille Sanfilippo said, “The mayor has no respect for us. Why should
we have respect for him?” FBI Director James B. Comey noted 115 police officers
were killed in the line of duty last year, an increase from the year before. “I
do not know why there is so much evil and heartache in our world,” Comey said,
“but I believe it is our obligation to make something good out of tragedy. To
do good to honor this good man and to do everything to protect those who
protect us.”
President
of the police union, Patrick Lynch, recently suggested officers sign a petition
to forbid de Blasio from attending funerals for officers that die on the job. “That
blood on the hands starts at the steps of City Hall, in the office of the
mayor,” said Lynch, “After the funerals, those responsible will be called on
the carpet and held accountable.” Critics are also pointing to de Blasio’s
failure to address the two lieutenants assaulted at a protest on Brooklyn
Bridge. Jon Adler, National President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers
Association, said, “Had Mayor Bill de Blasio been forceful from the onset when
the two lieutenants were attacked, one has to question as to whether this
murderous psycho would have been compelled to target our heroic brother and
sister in New York's Finest.”
However,
at Liu’s funeral, fewer officers turned their backs on de Blasio than at
Ramos’s funeral. Some officers feel that acting this way in such a setting is
disrespectful. “Just no respect,” said one retired NYPD officer, “There is
always that few who like to stir things up.” Over the weekend, Bratton sent a
memo to all commands, encouraging respect and saying, “a hero’s funeral is
about grieving, not grievance.”
De
Blasio wants to move forward and reconcile with the police officers. He plans
to reform the police department, particularly the way they deal with different
ethnic communities, “Let us move forward by strengthening the bonds that unite
us and let us work together to obtain peace.”
