Two NYC cops shot and killed in car; shooter killed self

[Jiro]

JetBlue offers to fly police to NYPD funeral

JetBlue (JBLU) is offering to fly two police officers from each department on its route around the country to New York for the funerals of two NYPD officers killed last weekend.

that's really nice of JetBlue.

 

[Jiro]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/25/us/nypd-officer-rafael-ramos-services/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

New York (CNN) -- Rafael Ramos was an unusual cop.

He saw the streets of New York as his ministry.

In fact, he was just hours away from becoming a lay chaplain and graduating from a community-crisis chaplaincy program before he and fellow New York police Officer Wenjian Liu were gunned down in their patrol car Saturday in Brooklyn.

Some 25,000 police officers from around the country are expected to attend the funeral, according to the New York Police Department.

Ramos, 40, enjoyed the spiritual dimension to life and work.

"He told me that his job even with the NYPD, he felt he was doing God's work," the Rev. Marcos Miranda, president of the New York State Chaplain Task Force, told Arise America on YouTube.

"He felt that he was protecting and serving his community and that was a sort of a ministry for him. And I totally agreed with him," Marcos added. "He said this type of ministry, the chaplaincy, he could see himself doing this in the future as a full-time ministry after he retired from the NYPD."

Marcos heads an organization that runs the 10-week course for lay chaplaincy, which Ramos completed, the minister said.

Ramos always carried a smile, Marcos said.

"He had the kindest eyes you could see. They radiated kindness and compassion," Marcos said.

Ramos leaves a wife, Maritza, whom he married in 1993, and two sons, Justin and Jaden, said the Rev. Adam Durso, executive pastor of Christ Tabernacle, which Ramos attended for nearly 14 years.

To his close friends and even to his family, Ramos often went by Ralph, not Rafael.

"Ralph was definitely a family man. He always talked about his kids and how well they were doing athletically and academically," Durso said.

Ramos' son Jaden recounted on his Facebook page how "I had to say bye to my father" after the shooting.

"(H)e was the best father I could ask for. It's horrible that someone gets shot dead just for being a police officer. Everyone says they hate cops but they are the people that they call for help. I will always love you and I will never forget you. RIP Dad," Jaden wrote.

On his Facebook page, Ramos spoke of his faith and noted that he studied at Faith Evangelical College and Seminary in Tacoma, Washington, which also offers online courses.

Ramos posted this quote as the cover photo at the top of his Facebook page: "If your way isn't working, try God's way."

Ramos was active in his church.

He served as an usher and as part of the church's marriage ministry and life group ministry, Durso said.

"When his team was scheduled to serve, we never worried about whether Ralph would be there with his team to help. He was a humble man and was willing to help at any capacity, helping people to their seats, moms with their baby carriages or the elderly in and out of our elevator," Durso said in a statement.

 

[AlleyCat]

I watched CNN and the officers bringing Ramos' casket into the church. Made me tear up.

 

[Jiro]

I just received a news flash that NYPD Commissioner Bratton posthumously promoted Officers Ramos and Liu to detective.

 

[Reba]

I just received a news flash that NYPD Commissioner Bratton posthumously promoted Officers Ramos and Liu to detective.

I presume that should also increase benefits for the families.

 

[AlleyCat]

I just received a news flash that NYPD Commissioner Bratton posthumously promoted Officers Ramos and Liu to detective.

I watched the procession this morning and saw that too about the promotions. I hope Reba is right in that it will increase benefits to the families.

 

[Jiro]

I watched the procession this morning and saw that too about the promotions. I hope Reba is right in that it will increase benefits to the families.

it does.

 

[Jiro]

Hundreds Turn Their Back on de Blasio at NYPD Officer's Funeral

Hundreds of police officers turned their backs on a screen showing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as he spoke at the funeral of one of two officers killed last week in what has been called an "assassination."

The funeral at the Christ Tabernacle Church, in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens, was broadcast to thousands of police who gathered outside.

The killing of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu came amid heightened tensions between the police and the mayor over what some police saw as a lack of support for the force.

Sgt. Myron Joseph of the New Rochelle Police Department said he and fellow officers turned their backs spontaneously to "support our brothers in the NYPD."

The NYPD said through its public relations office that it had no comment.

how grossly disrespectful of officers turning their backs on Mayor de Blasio. They need to show respect to families of the slain officers, mourn with and let them mourn in peace. Why not save political statements for after the funeral and set the example of discipline?

I'm really disturbed by how NYPD especially the unions is behaving. If they were in military and they did that to President for KIAs at Arlington Cemetery... that would be an insubination. I don't understand that a mayor letting protesters exercising their rights to free speech is considered as traitorous and a contributor of a climate of mistrust. correct me if I'm wrong... the Mayor serves the city, not NYPD. and NYPD works for the Mayor, not the other way around.

 

[Jiro]

I'm glad these fools got called out and scorned.

Bratton Calls Police Officers’ Protest of de Blasio ‘Inappropriate’

William J. Bratton, the New York City police commissioner, said on Sunday that a silent protest by scores of his officers who turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio as he spoke during a funeral service for a fellow officer killed in the line of duty was “very inappropriate.”

Mr. Bratton said he did not support the actions of the officers on Saturday, who turned away from a screen showing the mayor speaking inside a church in Queens where hundreds had gathered to mourn Officer Rafael Ramos, who was shot and killed along with Officer Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn on Dec. 20.

“I certainly don’t support that action yesterday; I think it was very inappropriate at that event,” said Mr. Bratton, speaking on the CBS program “Face the Nation.” “To bring politics or to bring issues into that event was very inappropriate and I do not support it. He is the mayor of New York. He is there representing the citizens of New York to express their remorse and their regret at that death. It was very inappropriate.”

 

[Foxrac]

I'm personally very anti-NYPD due to their anti-gun rights stance.

RIP to both of cops and it is very crazy to kill them over Ferguson and Garner's case.

 

[Lau2046]

that was not the shooter's intention. his intention is currently unknown.

The shooter's intention was crystal clear - he shot his girlfriend because he's a loser - thought he left her for dead, left evidence all over the crime scene, which is confirmed by the girlfriend who thankfully survived. The shooter is a wanna be hero to avenge one criminal resisting arrest and another who just committed a crime...none of the facts actually make the liberal news. If we're really being honest, he just wanted to go out in a blaze of glory because he knew his ass would be sitting in jail once they caught up with him. So if you have nothing better to do, stir up hate and take the coward's way out.....

And we have a "president" that has the stones to say that under him, race relations have never been better. I think we have a lot of idiots in public office. All of these losers would call 911 if in a crisis but they don't think we should support our men and women in blue? I'd have turned my back on the major and the joke we call Vice President too. They've done nothing but criticize the police at every turn - naturally Obama's not letting it interfere with his golf game in Hawaii....so we know where he really stands.

To date, we've had four brave men die in the line of duty and several cowardly politicians trying to pretend they weren't playing the blame game or encouraging the riots where the theme of the day was "what do we want? Dead Pigs..." I guess they missed the film footage....

Laura

 

[CrazyPaul]

In the poll, 5 of you voted yes. Care to explain why you think the mayor should resign? What did he do wrong?

 

[Jiro]

If the NYPD treats the mayor this bad in public, imagine what they do to black men when no one is looking

Let’s talk about the police, specifically the NYPD. New York’s finest have not been acting so fine in recent days, disrespecting Mayor Bill de Blasio and residents of the Big Apple in the process.

Now, if the police will openly defy and disrespect their boss and commander in public, can you imagine what they do to black men when the cameras are nowhere in sight?

One of the more conspicuous voices of defiance and disrespect emanating from the NYPD is Patrick Lynch, the leader of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. Following the December 20 execution of police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos by crazed gunman Ismaaiyl Brinsley in Brooklyn, Lynch placed the blame for the murders on Mayor de Blasio. Lynch said “There’s blood on many hands tonight,” adding, “That blood on the hands starts at City Hall in the Office of the Mayor.” The PBA head also talked of the NYPD becoming a “wartime police department,” as if he is planning a coup, and declaring war against the citizens of New York City, particularly its black residents.

The ultimate humiliation for the mayor came when hundreds of officers turned their backs on him while he spoke at the funeral of Officer Ramos. Meanwhile, the same police who have opposed the anti-police brutality demonstrations chose the funeral of a fallen cop to protest the mayor and call for his ouster, all while drinking in uniform. And on Monday, de Blasio was greeted with boos and jeers as he spoke at the police academy graduation ceremony.

What’s going on here? We must remember why a certain segment of the force is angry at Mayor de Blasio. He has supported the #BlackLivesMatter protests and spoken out on the need for reform in the police department, and made this one of his campaign themes. Moreover, as a father of a young black man, he did what any parent would do, which is instruct his son on how to conduct himself when in the presence of the police.

“Chirlane and I have had to talk to Dante for years about the dangers that he may face. A good young man, law-abiding young man who would never think to do anything wrong,” de Blasio said. “And yet, because of a history that still hangs over us, the dangers he may face, we’ve had to literally train him—as families have all over this city for decades—in how to take special care in any encounter he has with the police officers who are there to protect him.”

And why would anyone—in this case police officers—object to the mayor’s heartfelt words, his truth telling, unless they truly lack sensitivity to the challenges facing the black community? Why would they take offense to the mayor unless they carry around a sense of entitlement, a belief they can do whatever they want to whomever they please, and no one should tell them what to do?

The NYPD, like other police departments around the country, suffers from a toxic culture problem and a leadership crisis. And if nothing else is clear, it is most certain the swamp must be drained.

Although some sources would spin the data differently, the fact remains that New York City is a predominantly black and brown city with a majority white police department. And the reactionary culture of that department—based not only on recent events but by years of evidence—is dominated by white working-class bullies who operate through intimidation, and with utter contempt for the communities of color they purportedly serve.

For years, through the infamous “stop and frisk” policy, the NYPD maintained an illegal tactic that amounted to the nearly exclusive harassment of black and Latino men. For example, in 2011, of the 685,724 people stopped and questioned by police, around 9 in 10 were members of so-called minority groups.

One former narcotics detective, Stephen Anderson, admitted it was common practice for cops to plant evidence and frame innocent people in order to inflate the arrest stats and meet their quotas. A high-ranking police officer was caught on tape ordering a Latino cop, a whistleblower, to target “male blacks 14 to 21” for stop and frisk because they commit crimes. One federal judge said the force is plagued by “widespread falsification” on the part of arresting officers. The corruption is put into its proper context when one considers that 5 percent of NYPD officers make 4o percent of resisting arrest charges, and 15 percent of cops account for nearly three-quarters of such arrests.

Meanwhile, of the 179 fatalities by NYPD officers over 15 years—86 percent of whom were black or Latino where information on race was available— only three cases led to indictments, and only one resulted in a conviction. Given these unresolved and unaddressed racial problems in the department, it is no wonder that NYPD Chief of Department Philip Banks—the highest ranking black cop on the force—resigned. And it is no wonder that black officers feel threatened when they are off duty, out of uniform, and racially profiled by their white peers.

“As an officer, I’ve been thrown against the wall. As an officer, I’ve been shown no respect,” said NYPD Officer Adhyl Polanco on Democracy Now! “And I’ve been thrown against the wall off-duty, because…the mentality that Patrick Lynch and many other officers don’t want to hear about. They don’t have to speak to their kids,” he added. Polanco spoke out against stop and frisk, and taped department conversations detailing the policy, which punished officers that failed to meet a quota of stops.

Speaking of de Blasio, Polanco said the mayor inherited a police department with many issues: “Mayor de Blasio came with the attitude that ‘I can fix this police department.’ But this police department has a culture that is going to make whoever tried to change that culture and life impossible, including the mayor. It’s absolutely wrong to turn their back on the mayor.”

He elaborated: “How can a parent who has a black child… that [has] seen millions of kids being stopped by stop-and-frisk… how can parents [who] see black kids get killed by police over and over, how can parents that see kids being summonsed illegally, being arrested in their own building for trespassing…not from all officers, because not all officers are the same—how can you not responsibly…have that conversation with your son? You have to.”

Abusive police who unleash violence against black or brown bodies may also do the same to their spouses or girlfriends. According to the National Center for Women and Policing, studies have found between 24 and 40 percent of police officer families experience domestic violence, making domestic abuse 2 to 4 times more common among law enforcement families than in the general population. Often these cases are swept under the rug by fellow cops, with few abusive officers arrested, prosecuted or fired, but many promoted.

And it would seem some violent cops have unleashed their hostility and aggression on Mayor de Blasio and black New Yorkers in general. We’ve been down this road before. In September 1992, then-mayoral candidate Rudolph Giuliani participated in a drunken police union protest against the black mayor, David Dinkins. Around 10,000 officers participated in the PBA-led riot on City Hall, hurling racial epithets, beating journalists and blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, incensed that Dinkins would propose an independent civilian agency to investigate police misconduct.

After Giuliani was elected, racism and brutality thrived in the NYPD. Anthony Baez was choked to death in 1994 for hitting a police car with a football. Abner Louima was tortured and sodomized with a broom handle inside a Brooklyn precinct bathroom in 1997, and an unarmed Amadou Diallo was killed in a hail of 41 police bullets outside his home in 1999. Countless others were violated while in police custody, and the city paid out $70 million in awards for police abuse claims between 1994 and 1996 alone.

At their best, police are partners with the community. But at their worst, their actions are reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan. A police leadership that threatens coups and race wars must be replaced, if public confidence in law enforcement is to be restored. Mayor de Blasio must be supported in his quest for reform but he has his work cut out for him.