Tens of thousands of uniformed police officers from across the United States attended the funeral of one of their murdered last week in New York on Saturday, an impressive show of solidarity after criticism against American police in recent months .
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, New York State Governor, city mayor, and police chief also attended the funeral of Rafael Ramos, 40, at Christ Tabernacle Protestant Church in the Queens.
As a sign of the continuing tension between Mayor Bill de Blasio and his police, hundreds of police officers following the ceremony outside on giant screens chose to turn their backs on these screens when the mayor spoke.
Rafael Ramos was killed with a colleague in their car parked in a Brooklyn street on December 20, by an imbalance claiming to avenge the deaths of two blacks killed this summer by police in Ferguson (Missouri) and New York.
These deaths, and the fact that the white police officers involved were not prosecuted, have given rise to numerous and sometimes violent protests in the United States.
The assassination of Rafael Ramos “touched the soul of the whole country,” the US vice president said on Saturday, saying to applause that the New York police were “probably the best in the country”.
“I think this police force and this incredibly diverse city will show the country how to overcome divisions,” he added.
“Nothing will defeat or divide our New York family,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also said, praising the “professionalism” of the police during the protests, where she has been repeatedly accused of racism and ill-treatment. , sometimes being targeted.
Very criticized by some police officers finding that he had not supported them enough, Bill de Blasio, visibly tired, greeted Rafael Ramos as a “hero”, a “man of peace and love”, and offered his condolences “to another family, that of the New York police, who are suffering so much at the moment ”.
His remarks drew only polite applause, when those of Vice President, Governor and Police Chief Bill Bratton were warmly received.
Mr. Bratton particularly insisted on the need for reconciliation.
According to him, tens of thousands of police had come from the United States, and even Canada, for the funeral. Some have traveled thousands of kilometers, coming from California, Georgia, Wisconsin or Indiana.
In the streets around the church, closed to traffic and overrun by uniformed police, the mood was gloomy.
“It’s very difficult… We just hope we don’t go back to the 70s with these demonstrations and riots. We just hope it stops, ”said Michael Palmese, a New York police officer.
“The mayor must support the chief of police more, he must support his cops,” also insisted Buddy Mazzio, a retired inspector. “It is a difficult time for America”.
Rafael Ramos, married and father of two sons, was shot dead along with his colleague Wenjian Liu, 32, married for two months, without even having time to see their attacker, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, who then committed suicide on a metro platform.
Brinsley had previously explained on Instagram that he wanted to avenge the deaths of Mike Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York.
Posthumously promoted
The double murder, just before Christmas, deeply shocked New York and its 35,000 police officers, and exacerbated tensions between the mayor and his police.
Some police officers even accused Mr. de Blasio of having blood on his hands, believing that he had been too benevolent towards the demonstrators.
Mr. de Blasio had asked for a truce until the funeral, but in vain: on Friday, a small plane flew over the Hudson River in New York, with a banner saying “De Blasio, we have turned our backs on you”, an act claimed by a group of angry policemen and ex-policemen. And the demonstrations have diminished, without however stopping.
On Saturday, the two murdered police officers were posthumously promoted to inspector by Bill Bratton, and the very religious Rafael Ramos was also posthumously promoted to chaplain for his police station.
The funeral for the second killed policeman, part of the family of whom must come from China, has not yet been finalized.
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