reporter for the daily news. errol lewis and tom verny, a retired new york police department detective. thank you all for being here. tom let me start with you as you see the pictures of the sea of blue again. how does it make you feel as a detired detective? i think it s fantastic. the outpouring of support that s come from all corners of the united states. i believe there s even some from canada as well. it just reinforces the fact that what a tragedy this was. we started off with ramos funeral and we re seeing it again today for officer liu s funeral. it s not unexpected especially in an unbelievable double assassination. it s not unexpected we would have a large turnout like this and i m very very happy to see so many people would come out and support the family. are there any parallels you can recall in history to as what you said this double execution on december 20th? certainly partners have been killed before in the line of duty.
been rev revved to to promote him to detective first grade liu. as amazing as his story is his refusal to be dissuaded or daunted, his dedication is hardly unique. after all, it s what cops do. in the days after dekt liu and ramos were assassinated murdered for their color, slain because they were blue i visited their families and learned what profoundly good men they were. and i found myself wondering why do we always lose the good ones? but now i realize it s the law of averages. almost all of them are the good ones very few are not. our cops are people just like detective liu and detective ramos. they too, share a belief in what s possible and a desire to serve. detective liu led a responsible,
some people witnessed that horrible day and were paralyzed. detective liu witnessed it and saw the possibility of service. the possibility of being part of something that would help others. for 170 years immigrants to the city have found a home in the nypd like detective liu and detective ramos, to help others to have a life of significance. only the home lands have changed over time. first it was the irish, then the italians. like the man who called himself joe, too. he was murdered by the mafia while on assignment in italy. now our cops are from everywhere. the nypd looks a lot more like the city it serves than some people think. more than half of our members call new york city home and live within its five boroughs just like detective liu and detective
the injured, and tried to bring them comfort. you heard the mayor s story, the lift. reminded me so much of my time as a young police officer. we called it the same thing, a lift job, and i can remember hearing the mayor talk about it about the different times we would go to help the elderly, often times who were really just lonely and they needed a reason to call us. they needed someone to talk with and i can still remember myself and my partner henry going on those lift jobs and having some of the same experiences that detective liu had. detective liu is the police that we want. but it s also in this city and in this country the police that we have. and for that and for how he died but for how he lived and performed his duty for that i am so honored as has already
do not perish. and as cops we celebrate his life and that of detective ramos to honor what they accomplished for so many. both below the coffin is this beautiful calligraphy and some of the words are so representative of officer liu and his partner, detective ramos. in the sphere of law enforcement, his vision is left unrealized. it s up to us to make his vision a reality. for their sr. service to the people their names will forever be cherished in our hearts and finally detective liu, a model for all police.