Posted on 12/28/2014 2:55:41 PM PST by lee martell
Looking at the memorial service and subsequent funeral for Officer Rafael Ramos, I was struck by how many officers were in attendance, how intricate and well coordinated each phase of the ceremonies were performed. It's a terrible thing, of course, that these good policemen were murdered, but then I began to wonder if there is a set rule in how each incident of a downed officer is to be observed and conducted?
They could not possibly have an equally lavish, equally attended memorial service and funeral for each American Officer killed in the line of duty, even were this the wish of the bereaved. No mention is being made of Officer Charles Kondek, a father of four, killed while reacting to an unknown person loudly knocking on doors at 3am. Kondek, a Florida Officer was killed that same day. No mention is being made of Officer Tyler Stewart, a 24 y/o rookie cop killed yesterday in Flagstaff Arizona. I would think this would be too expensive to do for everybody. I'm guessing the family for Officer Wenjian Liu will opt for a private ceremony. Every family grieves in its own way. Does it depend on how much funding each individual precinct has? I can imagine New York City being better funded than Flagstaff Arizona. I was relieved to see that the police were wise enough to station rooftop lookouts in the area of the ceremony. I'm not losing any sleep over this, I'm not obsessed with it, but just curious. My sympathies to all the Officer families involved.
I suspect it is because this was a premeditated cold-blooded politically motivated assassination.
I think the family normally would have veto power, if they didn’t want a public funeral. But in this case, the police made it a big thing because they were hitting back at the race-baiters and politicians who tried to depict the officer as another white male racist killer—and fortunately failed.
The race-baiters and the mayor, among others, tried to blacken his name, so his fellow police decided to rescue his reputation. Otherwise it’s doubtful the funeral would have been so big.
The NYPD has enough officer personnel, not including civilian staff, to make for a great big funeral. This wouldn’t be the case with (say) a Stallings, NC, officer, even if the whole department and all their in-laws came. In addition, I understand one of the airlines offered free airfare to officers from around the country to attend.
This event was making a statement for police nationwide. However, if the family had wanted it private, then it would have been private.
I think you have accurately defined the reason for the BIG funeral for Officer Ramos.
I’m glad this was made into a big deal. The country still pays a lot of attention to what happens in New York City. We needed to stop, survey the damage done, and take this very seriously. Even Joe Biden seemed to be awake and paying attention. I don’t recall him publicly saying anything (too) stupid during the Memorial Service.
Maybe $5 million or so apiece - after all, it's not THEIR money...
Let me off this merry-go-round.
Officer Down Memorial Page
http://www.odmp.org/search/year
[2014] Line of Duty Deaths: 115
Gunfire: 47
Los Angeles firefighter funeral with bagpipes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdtgj3kZV0o
While you’re right that the scope of this funeral was exceptional, I suspect that you would be surprised at the similarities, although of lesser scope, at other funerals for those lost in the line of duty.
A college friend was working in the State’s Attorney’s office in the Chicago area and died in a plane crash. There was a large police honor guard at the casket for the entire visitation, and a multi-jurisdictional police escort for the procession to the cemetery, which was in a different county from the funeral.
When your line of work involves repeated hardships and risks, the sanction on emotional reactions to the hardships, where you must be professional under inhuman pressures, is sometimes balanced by ceremonial outlets for the strong emotions.
The NYPD is the biggest police force in the country, with over 34,000 uniformed officers patrolling New York’s streets, and 51,000 employees overall — more than the FBI. It has a proposed budget of $4.6 billion for 2013, a figure that represents almost 15 percent of the entire city’s budget.
NYC’s population is a little over 8 million. That means that there are 4.18 police officers per 1,000 people. By comparison, Los Angeles, the second largest city in the U.S. with 3.8 million people, has only 9,895 officers–a ratio of 2.6 police per 1,000 people.
I suspect any police funeral in NYC is going to be a fairly large affair in most cases, especially for someone killed in the line of duty.
I’d guess something about the Press....
Jet Blue Airlines gave two free round trip tickets to police/sheriffs across the nation for each flight to NYC. That allowed many to attend who could never have afforded to come.
The protestors and anarchists are the ones who created a need for such a large display of unified cops. This is more than a statement to de Blasio, it’s a statement to those who have decided to declare was on NYPD, and every other police department in USA.
The type of murder, the cause, and the political fervor against police created this huge funeral. The family is just swept away in the magnitude of this whole assassination, and they are Christian, so we see a major event.
The Lei family’s loss, and the officer’s funeral is going to be different, as his parents are coming from China. He was only married a couple of months, no children I know of. So probably a more humble affair. I was surprised they didn’t send him back to his homeland for burial, but maybe he and his new wife made their own arrangements.
Whenever an officer dies in the line of duty in the Atlanta metro area, police from every surrounding jurisdiction shows up.... However, the circumstances surrounding this case warranted even stronger police support....
A $4.6 BILLION dollar budget?!! Holy moly. I had no idea.
That must be some financial portfolio.
Locally a police officer was killed a few months ago - and there was a public ceremony at a large public building. I think most cops who die in the line of duty get a large ceremony.
I bet they have to write a lot of citations to keep the coffers filled.
Reyes funeral was attended by 20-something THOUSAND cops alone! THAT guarantees a spectacle.
It takes more than Lovely Rita, Meter Maid tickets to make that happen. I would presume a portion of their funds are utilized in margin accounts for puts and calls. Huge amounts of money can ‘change ownership’ very quickly if you don’t mind a little gambling. They may also control several properties in the area. I’ve always heard how expensive it is to live or work in New York.
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