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Thousands of New York City police officers lined Manhattan's Fifth Avenue today to honor a fellow officer who was killed in the line of duty last week while rushing to a domestic violence incident.
Police officers dressed in blue uniforms and wearing white gloves carried the American flag-covered casket of Jason Rivera, 22, one of the four police officers who were shot last week, during a funeral service at St. Patrick's Church in Manhattan.
As colleagues comforted each other and wiped tears from their eyes, Rivera's widow, Dominique Luzuriaga, said she felt lost without him.
"I can't believe you left me. Seeing you in a hospital bed, covered with sheets, not hearing you when I talk to you, it broke me," Luzuriaga said in her eulogy, her voice cracking.
"Although I gained thousands of brothers and sisters (police officers), I feel the greatest loneliness without you."
The 22-year-old officer was shot along with Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, and a third officer when they responded to a call of a disturbance in Harlem, where a woman was apparently arguing with one of her sons.
Shortly after arriving at the scene, the woman's son opened fire on Rivera and Mora while they were in a narrow hallway. The third officer then shot the suspect, LaShawn McNeil, 47. Mora and McNeill succumbed to their injuries this week.
Mayor Eric Adams, who took office this month and is a former police commander, is facing an increase in violent crime. Speaking at Rivera's funeral, he said the officer's courage made public safety in the city possible.
"He can still hear us from a distance. He hears our voices, he hears our prayers, he hears our hopes," Adams said."
"We as a city, as a state and as a nation, thank you, Jason."
Source: Proto Thema
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