Breaking News
Police Shortage Hits Critical Mass         Troopers Accused in OT Scam         DROP Lawsuit: Judge Rules Against Cops         The Real Reason They’re After Your Pension? Money!         DROP Program Getting Negative Press         Millennials, White-collar Workers Bringing New Life to Unions         New Study Reveals Police Rarely Use Force         Fake Cop Badges are Everywhere         Best Path for a Trim, Healthy Body         Teachers Get 5% After Strike; Victory for Cops, Too!         When is Police “Use of Force” Justified?         Police Unions & the Video Craze         Scary Day for Police Unions         Night Tours Can Hurt Your Health         Stress Weakens Brain Power; Exercise Can Bring It Back         Police Association President Arrests Suspect—On His Street!         An Assault on Common Sense         NYPD Sergeant Acquitted On All Charges         Fingerprint Scanner to Track On-the-job Time         New Jersey Cops Fighting for Their Pensions         Police and Attorney Say “No Way” to Restrictive Use of Force Policy         Jury Is Out On This Police Review Board         A Police Union With Power!         Stressed-Out Officers: Gone After Eight Years         More Union Members in 2017         Police, Fire Lose Court Fight Over Pensions         Baltimore Discovers It Wants and Needs Its Police         VIDEO: Austin Cops Leaving in Droves         Off-Duty Jobs Scam Uncovered         Deputies Demand $500,000 In Back Pay         Stressed Out Officers, Gone After 8 Years         City Scrambles to Save Pensions         Police Boss Gets Jail Time, Rank and File Up In Arms         CONTRACT REJECTED! Younger Officers Upset With High Healthcare Costs         Police Pensions Protected (For Now)         Let’s Support Firefighters; Cops Will Be Next         Man With a Plan         FBI Will Not Investigate Detective’s Homicide         What About “Warning Shots?” The Debate Continues         Dallas 9-1-1 Back On Track         Hope for Pay Raises in St. Louis         VIDEO: NYC Hero Cop Speaks         New Policies on Deadly Force         ALADS Continues Legal Fight Over “Brady” List         Cops Forgo Raise to Keep 4-3 Schedule         One Cop’s Take On Colin Kaepernick         VIDEO: “We Brought Our Brother Home”         LISTEN: No Sleep? You’d Better Fix That!         VIDEO: What Really Happened         ACLU: Detective’s Right to Free Speech Was Violated         Time To Stop the Finger Pointing         If Things Go Bad, You Need a Plan         Dear Anthem Protesters: Police are Not the Enemy         Real Police Facing Private Takeover         Hard Work, Heartache, and a Lot of Love         VIDEO: Harvey’s Horrific Aftermath         VIDEO: Keeping World Leaders Safe         Bill Bratton On the Future of American Policing         Who Will Pay for New Contract?         VIDEO: Detectives Fight Plan to Cut Pensions         Taking Care of Others, Then Our Own         Public Support For Unions is Growing         Minneapolis Considering Residency Incentives         VIDEO: Cop Battling Cancer is Harvey Hero         VIDEO: Dancing With the Cops?         Cops Speak Out Against Use of “Thin Blue Line” by Hate Groups         What Is the Arnold Foundation Hiding?         Decision May Violate Officers’ Rights         Court Deems Evergreen Clause Constitutional         No Raises for Cops; $140M for Stadium         Philly Cops Win $8M O.T. Settlement         We Condemn Nazis and White Supremacists         Mounties Face Crisis, No Solution in Sight         Push to Oust Louisville PD Chief Intensifying         CSLEA is Newest Member of PubSecAlliance         Ford is Fixing the Problem         “It’s Been An Honor to Work With Chief Marshman”         Automatic Dues Collection Under Attack         Cops Use Video to Go for Pay Raise         Understaffed Leads to Rise In Crime         R.I.P. Deputy Haak         Ruling On Body Cams: Use Must Be Negotiated         Rochester Police Locust Club (NY) Joins PubSecAlliance         Officer Acquitted Of Negligent Homicide         Texas Cops Oppose Anti-Union Bill         Insults Divide, Decency Unites         FOP Prez Threatened, Police Investigate         VIDEO: Sergeant’s Indictment Prompts Outpouring of Support         VIDEO: Sounding the Alarm On a Manpower Crisis         VIDEO: Dramatic Body Cam Footage!         VIDEO: Police Union Advises Action Amid “Breaking Point”         VT First State to OK Compensation for PTSD         Officer Suicides: Agencies Must Do More         Outsiders Clamor for Police Contract Changes         Governor Furloughs Workers, Hits the Beach         Recruit the Best at U.S. Army Reserves         VIDEO: Sergeant Charged With Murder 2         R.I.P. Officer Korchak         More Officers Taking Own Lives         Pride in Honoring Our Own         A Tale of Two Chiefs         New Accountability System Gives Civilians More Power         Police Unions Call for “Rational Voice”         Texas Moves to Save Pensions         City Refuses to Pay Officer’s Legal Bills         Rank and File Question Dubious Hiring         The Mounties Have Never Had to Contend With a Union         Police Week: Anguish, Anger, Empathy         Rookies Sue for OT Pay During Academy Training         FLSA Pay Ruling: Use Cash, Not Benefits         Record Crowd Attends Annual Candlelight Vigil         Everyone Needs Sleep, Especially Cops         Questions Raised About New John Jay President         Hennepin County Sheriff Joins NYPD Shield Program         Big Surprise: Paper Misrepresents Contract Talks         County Budget Leaves Us Underfunded         VIDEO: Omaha Unions Say No to Gov         City Says “No Police Floats” In Parade         One-Minute Man         Is This the Solution to Cop Shootings?         Ingredients for Better LE Outcomes         Why the Police Need Unions         Mounties Demand a Union & Contract         Indebted to Some Very Brave People         We’ve Been Abandoned by Politicos, Command Staff         VIDEO: The Most Hated Man In Pensionland         Underfunded Pensions: a Disaster Waiting to Happen         Another Ambush Attack!         Today, It’s You; Tomorrow, It’s a Security Guard         VIDEO: NJ Police May Get Control of Unfunded Pensions         Thousands of Officers to Get BIG Bonuses         Improving Economy Hurts LE Recruitment         Another Fundraising Scam         Threats to Police Retirement Programs Escalate         Conflict Rises, Billboards Go Up         NJ Unilaterally Changing Police Contract         Pensions Slowly Being Reduced and Replaced         Baltimore Chief: “No More Plainclothes”         When Will All This Stop?         Top Police Union Leader Joins Protest         VIDEO: “Line of Duty” is HERE!         Chicago Cops Get Thanks They Deserve         Mayors Missing as Pension Fund Goes Down         Pension Bill Draws Protest         Deputies Association Hires High-Powered PR Exec         Finally, a Contract for NYPD Officers         Nebraska Corrections Officers Seek Out F.O.P.         Outrage Grows Over Pension Plans in Peril         Sanctuary Cities: Police vs. Mayor         Police Unions Seek to Overhaul Obama’s Reforms         Super Bowl Security         Look Hard at Your Pension Fund         Pension Mediation Talks Cease; Lawsuit Looms         How Much Would You Pay for Policing?         Hazardous Workplace         Officers Leaving in Droves         Technology, Police, and Privacy         Fake Guns Destroy Lives         War Against Unions Gaining Ground         Washington D.C. Police Union in Turmoil         Teamsters Face 20% Cut in Pension Benefits         Body Cam Screw-ups Lead to Mistrial         VIDEO: Body Cam Catches Shootout         Restraining Order for Black Lives Matter Leader         New Chief Has Fight On His Hands         Pension Panic Spreads         Carrots and Sticks         Another Agency May Fold         Community and Police Join in Prayer         VIDEO: We Are There For You!         Feds Seek Repeat of Disastrous Police Hiring Practices         VIDEO: Officer’s Gift of Kindness Keeps on Giving         Is Trump Going After Collective Bargaining Rights?         Police Union Not “App”y         Police Union Fights Back Against Budget Cuts         Police Union Reinstates Body Cam Program         Citizen Wants Officer Fired for FB Post         VIDEO: Use of Force Policy Fiasco         Attacks on Law Enforcement         VIDEO: Where Is the Outrage?         Millions May Lose Overtime Pay         Mayor Violates Officer’s Right to Due Process         VIDEO: Police Union Heals With Song         State Moves to Nix Benefits From Collective Bargaining         City, Officer Cleared in Wrongful Death Case         Trump Puts OT, Benefits On Chopping Block         VIDEO: A World Without Law Enforcement         VIDEO: Shake It Off         HUGE Refund for AZ Public-Safety Pensioners         Eloquent Goodbye         Cheerleader In Chief         The Trouble With Trauma         Shocking News About Local Gov Pension Funds         See You In Court!         One of the Good Guys         Chief Resigns After No-Confidence Vote         Zika Virus Hits Cops         Iowa Officers Ambushed         Policing the Police         For Real Community Policing, Let Officers Do Their Jobs        
By December 28, 2014 Read More →

Eulogy for NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos

 NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton honored slain Officer Rafael Ramos with a posthumous appointment to Department Chaplain.

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton honored slain Officer Rafael Ramos with a posthumous appointment to Department Chaplain.

Ed. Note: NYPD Police Commissioner William J. Bratton delivered the eulogy at NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos’ funeral, held yesterday in New York City. Below is a transcript of his speech.

“Every time I attend a cop’s funeral, I pray that it will be the last. But I know it won’t. As I watch the casket carried past all those salutes, I wish it weren’t real. But it is. And as I look into the faces of the loved ones left behind whose worst fear has been so suddenly realized—I silently hope, ‘never again.’ But here we are.

“My first police funeral was forty-four years ago. On September 24, 1970, Boston Police Department Patrolman Walter Schroeder was ambushed by a violent group of anti-war extremists, shot in the back as he responded to a bank holdup. In 1970, Boston, like America, was a tumultuous place—protests for civil rights, anti-war demonstrations, anti-government demonstrations, anti-police demonstrations.

“Divisive politics polarized the city and the country. Maybe that sounds familiar. The murder of Officer Schroeder shook the foundations of City Hall and the Boston Police Department. It sowed doubt and fear among officers and citizens alike. We mourned, we vowed never to forget, and we moved forward.

“And here we are. Here we are to celebrate the life of Police Officer Rafael Ramos, and to honor him. To memorialize the sacrifice he made with his partner that day with his partner for all time—Officer Wenjian Liu.

“Here we are to remember. We remember what it means to take ‘the Job.’ No other profession will give you as much, or sometimes, take as much. ‘The Job’ can reward you like no other, but one day it might demand from you everything in return. For the Ramos family, today is that day. And here we are.

“We’re in a city struggling to define itself, where people are searching for what they stand for and why, where people claim to know best what it’s like to be everybody else. But we know who we are, because we know who Rafael Ramos was. He was a father, a son, a brother, and a husband. He was a New Yorker. He was a New York City Police Officer. And he was—he is—a hero.

“His sister, Sindy, told me that because his dad died when he was an infant, he took on the father figure role for the family as he grew. Cops who served with him said you could see that in the way he worked.

“Justin, Jayden—you got the chance to know your dad, the way he didn’t get to know his. You got to learn from him, the way he taught others. Your aunt said your dad knew a little bit of everything, and he was willing to let you know it. Your mom said he was the type of man who, if he set his mind on something, he went for it and did it. Other cops said the same thing: he came on ‘the Job’ older, a family man, street smart. He knew how to handle people, and the younger guys looked up to him. He never shirked a task, and he never complained. You should be so proud of him, as we all are.

“But over the last week, you’ve seen that the memorials and this funeral have been about more than just your dad. I know how strange it is . . . so comforting, on the one hand, to have the whole Department in mourning with you, to feel that solidarity, to know that we will never let you be alone again, that we are your family now, just as we were your dad’s.

“But a burden, too, having something so private for you be so public at the same time. Because here we are. We’re here because your dad was assassinated. That’s a different word than murdered, which is awful enough. It speaks of the prominence of the person killed; it makes the crime intentional and symbolic. Your dad was assassinated because he represented something—and that’s true, he did.

“He represented the men and women of the New York City Police Department. He was the embodiment of our motto: ‘fidelis ad mortem,’ ‘faithful unto death.’ He represented the blue thread that holds our city together when disorder might pull it apart.

“He represented the public safety that is the foundation of our democracy. He represented the best of our values, as anyone can see by looking at you and at your family. But he was also your dad. A good man, who tried hard, and sacrificed, and had a desire to serve. When DHL closed one employment door, that desire led him to a new door with our School Safety Division, where he was assigned to the Rocco Laurie Intermediate School, named for another officer slain with his partner, Gregory Foster, nearly 43 years ago. Like Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, these officers were killed for their color—they were killed because they were blue. And that desire to serve led him to enter the Police Academy at 37 years of age.

“Your mom said he’d come home pretty tired, competing with all those younger recruits. But he passed with flying colors, wearing the gold braid for being in the top of his class. No small feat. And that desire to serve led him to study to be a chaplain. And I’m privileged to be able to tell you that today I’m making him a Department chaplain—a posthumous member of that family within our family, that ministers to us in time of need.

“Rafael Ramos was assassinated because he represented all of us. Even though, beneath the uniform, he was just a good man. And he was just your dad. And maybe that’s our challenge. Maybe that’s the reason for the struggle we’re now in as a city, as a nation. Maybe it’s because we’ve all come to see only what we represent, instead of who we are.

“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, even a madman who assassinated two men because all he could see was two uniforms, even though they were so much more.

“We don’t see each other. If we can—if we can learn to see each other, to see that our cops are people like Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, to see that our communities are filled with people just like them too. If we can learn to see each other, then when we see each other, we’ll heal. We’ll heal as a Department. We’ll heal as a city. We’ll heal as a country.

“But as Ecclesiastes teaches, there is a time to every purpose under the Heavens. Today, it is time for us to mourn Rafael Ramos. Today, it is time for us to remember Rafael Ramos. And in a few days, we’ll be here again, in a different place that is the same, to celebrate the life of Officer Wenjian Liu. That will be a time for sadness, too. But someday the tears will end. The memories will not. We never have and we never will forget.

“Last Sunday at Saint Patrick’s, Cardinal Dolan spoke to the police. His cathedral thundered with prayer, he said. And he asked me to tell my officers ‘we love them very much, we mourn with them, we need them, we respect them and we’re proud of them and we thank them.’

“I’m proud of them, too. And prouder of none more than Police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, both of whom I promote today to Detective First Grade. Please let us rise and applaud the lives of Detective First Grade Rafael Ramos and Detective First Grade W enjian Liu, so they can hear us in heaven.

“Maritza, Justin, Jayden, Julia, Sindy: here we are, today, surrounded by a sea of blue. Our family will always be with yours. We don’t forget. We are here for you. For you, and for this city. God bless the New York City Police Department. And God bless you, and God bless Rafael. In life he guarded the streets of this city; in death, he guards the heavenly gates. Grant him rest. Grant him peace.”

Posted in: The Job

Comments are closed.