Local police travel to New York to pay tribute to NYPD officers

On Dec. 28, Oakland Police Chief C. Earl and officers J. Patricio and J. Isbell had the opportunity to celebrate the life of Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in New York City.
More than 25,000 police officers from around the country joined to pay their respects at the Christ Tabernacle Church, in the Glendale neighborhood. Churches, local businesses and NYPD residents opened their doors and invited everyone in attendance to join them in respect for the fallen officers.
Ramos and his partner Liu were gunned down on Dec. 20 as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn. Ramos, 40, was a 2-year veteran of the NYPD. He is survived by his wife, Maritza, and sons Justin and Jaden.
Liu, 32, a newlywed of only two months had seven years on the force. Liu will be laid to rest later this week. NYPD Police Commissioner William Bratton announced that he was promoting Ramos and Liu to detectives first grade posthumously. He also announced that he was appointing Ramos as honorary department chaplain for the 84th Precinct.
The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation intends to pay off the mortgages for the Ramos and Liu families. Their goal is to raise $800,000. Those who would like to contribute can do so at tunnel2towers.org.
The trip was made possible by the gracias donations given by Fayette County residents.
“We would like to say thank you to the Fayette County Commissioners Reggie Howard and Tim GoodRoe, Oakland Mayor Chris Goodman, and all of the individuals and business owners who contributed. It was truly an honor to participate,” Earl said.