NEW YORK—Throughout the day, the rain held steady, at times relentlessly pouring down the streets lined with thousands of police officers from across the country.
But the ceremony must go on. After heartfelt eulogies and a meticulously arranged funeral procession done in the police tradition, NYPD officer Wenjian Liu, who was shot and killed in Brooklyn two weeks ago, was finally laid to rest on Sunday afternoon.
Liu and his partner, Rafael Ramos were shot in the head while sitting in their patrol car in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Ramos’s funeral took place last weekend.
From the eulogies given by Liu’s family members, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Police Commissioner William Bratton, 32 year-old Liu was a humble, hard-working man who cared deeply for his family.
Liu’s Life
Liu, who emigrated from China at age 12, first attended college hoping to become an accountant. But after 9/11, he set his dreams on becoming a police officer.
He first joined the NYPD as an auxiliary officer, a volunteer position. In 2007. During that time, two auxiliary officers were shot and killed in Greenwich Village.
“He could have turned away. He could have said it wasn’t worth it. Instead, four months later, he took the oath to become a New York City police officer,” said Police Commissioner Bratton. The remarks were broadcast over a jumbotron outside the Ralph Aievoli & Son Funeral Home in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, where the family held a private Chinese Buddhist funeral ceremony.
