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Fallen NYPD officers honored with memorial ceremony and calls for action
Fallen NYPD officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera had their names added to the memorial wall of the 32nd Precinct stationhouse in Harlem during their name-engraving memorial ceremony on Friday, May 20.
“Yesterday, we gathered for a memorial wall plaque dedication ceremony honoring Det. Jason Rivera & Det. Wilbert Mora. The new wall will serve as a permanent reminder of our solemn vow to #NeverForget their legacy and ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to everyone that made this possible,” the precinct wrote in a tweet.
Mora and Rivera were shot and killed on January 21 while responding to a domestic disturbance call about a woman whose son was threatening her.
Lashawn McNeil, 47, ambushed the two officers as they entered the building before being shot by another officer.
Rivera died the same night, while Mora passed four days after due to his injuries.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told the officers’ families that the NYPD “would never forget our fallen.”
“Their dedication to the Harlem community and the men and women of the NYPD was unwavering. They were committed to the same mission that all those who wear our uniform swear to uphold.”
Both Mora and Rivera were posthumously promoted to the rank of detective.
The families of the fallen officers are unhappy with the current political climate, which they say goes easy on criminals and demonizes police officers.
“Neither the death of Wilbert, nor that of his partner, nor the pain of our families … much less my desperate calls, has made you do anything to change the condition that put them at such a disadvantage and vulnerable state in an NYPD uniform,” Mora’s sister Karina said. “That’s why today I ask you again, ‘How many more Wilberts, how many more Jasons and how many more broken families do you need to take action?”
Karina was referring to bail reform legislation passed in 2019, which allows potentially dangerous criminals back on the streets by ending cash bail.
The legislation also eliminated judges from setting bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent crimes as a way to “keep people out of jail.”
New York congressional candidate Desi Cuellar also implied that things need to change.
“Today, we’re remembering Officer Mora and Officer Rivera of the NYPD’s 32nd Precinct, whose lives were cut short earlier this year. It’s not enough to never forget anymore. Things have gone too far for too long,” he tweeted.
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