BROOKLYN — The police officers killed in an ambush while sitting in their patrol car in Bedford-Stuyvesant were family men with a deep commitment to the city, grief-stricken friends, relatives and officials said on Sunday.
Officers Wenjian Liu, 32, and Rafael Ramos, 40, were “shot and killed with no warning” on Saturday by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, a gunman who had bragged about his deadly plans on Instagram, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.
At Myrtle and Tompkins avenues, where the shooting took place, mourners created a makeshift memorial with bouquets of flowers, candles, Christmas wreaths and notes to the fallen officers.
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By Sunday night, a steady stream of police officers both in and out of uniform lined up with lit candles or blue roses to leave at the memorial. Uniformed NYPD officers spoke amicably with community members. Several elected officials and members of the clergy also attended, with clergy leading the group in song. Several people wept.
Earlier in the day, Elizabeth Svendsen, 65, who was with her 9-year-old great-grandson Devonte Johnson, said she was at that same corner Saturday afternoon just moments before the gunshots rang out.
Svendsen, who lives in the neighborhood, said she regularly saw the two officers patrolling the area, and just the other day, “I told them thank you for being out here.”
“They’re out here to protect us,” she said.
Liu had been on the force for seven years and had gotten married just two months ago, Bratton said. Police officers stood watch outside his Sunset Park home on Sunday as his wife and parents grieved inside.
A vigil was held Sunday evening outside the Cypress Hills home where Ramos was raised by his grandmother, and friends, family and elected officials spoke about the "sweet" man who spent his whole life in the neighborhood.
“He was a loving husband and an even better police officer,” said John Rodriguez, who had known Ramos for about 30 years and is the head of the 75th Precinct's community council.
Ramos' cousin, Ronie Gonzalez, said the religious family is relying on their faith to get them through.
"That is what's keeping us strong, our faith in God. We don't believe in vengeance, we just forgive," he said. "[Brinsley is] forgiven already. He's in the hands of God now, I know he is, but we do forgive him."
Ramos, who is survived by his wife and two teenage sons, had saved up money and bought a house in the neighborhood two years ago, Rodriguez said. The “loving father and husband” was also putting his eldest 19-year-old son through college out of state, he said.
His younger son, Jaden Ramos, memorialized his father on Facebook Saturday night.
"Today I had to say bye to my father. He was their [sic] for me everyday of my life, he was the best father I could ask for," he wrote. "It's horrible that someone gets shot dead just for being a police officer. Everyone says they hate cops but they are the people that they call for help. I will always love you and I will never forget you. RIP Dad."
The New York Yankees agreed to pay for the education costs of Ramos' sons through their Silver Sheild Foundation, which was created by the team's late owner George Steinbrenner to help the children of fallen police officers and firefighters.
The city's police unions called on their members to support the officers' families, while blaming Mayor Bill de Blasio for cultivating an anti-police atmosphere that they said contributed to the officers' deaths.
"Today, I ask each of you to support the families of these two officers, keep them in your thoughts and prayers and to help bury our dead with honor," Sergeants' Benevolent Association president Ed Mullins said in a letter to members. "I assure you from the bottom of my soul there will be accountability from those who have enabled a lawless atmosphere in this city."
During the press conference, Rodriguez slammed de Blasio for what he said was a lack of support for the NYPD — and said part of the reason they held the candlelight vigil was to show their support for the department, he said.
"We don't want the City of New York to think that everyone is against the police department," he said. "Everyone here with me tonight is for the NYPD."
De Blasio did not respond to union accusations that he was to blame for the shooting or to what was said at the vigil, and other politicians lent their prayers but also did not address the criticism.
"What everybody needs to do right now — when a cop is murdered in the line of duty — everyone needs to rally around the families of these officers and help them lay their families to rest," said Corey Pegues, 45, a retired NYPD inspector who lives on Long Island and attended the memorial at Myrtle and Tompkins Sunday night. "We don't need someone standing in front of a camera talking about police policy. We don't need nobody saying all of these things to the mayor."
Cardinal Timothy Dolan also called for "calm and unity" during a Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral Sunday morning.
“This is a painful day for all of us,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who spoke at the memorial at the shooting scene Sunday morning along with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.
"That bullet that hit the bodies of those two officers will continue to travel emotionally throughout this community," said Adams, who is a former police officer.
He urged people to hold off on protesting until the officers were laid to rest. Even so, a protest was held Sunday night in Harlem.
Bishop David Benke from St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Cypress Hills said he knew the Ramos family from when the youngest son attended their Universal Pre-K program.
"[Ramos] was the present dad, and I think that's the difference in this kind of community," he said. "There's a pretty razor-thin line between the streets and the good life and the next step. When the parents care to the degree that he did, that's when it works."
He said the whole community was reeling from the death of their neighbor.
"[It's a] big loss," he said. "It's like being cut down at the knees for the whole family, I'm sure."
