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.
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 Yorks 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 citys budget.
NYCs 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 officersa 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....
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....
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.
Reyes funeral was attended by 20-something THOUSAND cops alone! THAT guarantees a spectacle.
We lost some fire fighters not too many years ago. The procession through this little town went on for miles. It’s just how it is.
Condolences for the fallen and their families, but asking about who pays for all of this is a fair question, too, and how many are paid to be there or have their travel and accommodations paid for.
I doubt any government would be interested in financing big funerals for those in far more dangerous public service jobs (based on death rates), like convenience store clerks.
Just another sign of the separation of government employees from the people who work (and often die) to support our outsized government.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-police-officer-charles-kondek-killed-duty-remembered-funeral-n275551