TRAGIC BOND
Slain cop’s ma, killer’s aunt hug at memorial
FOR MANY months, she wondered who was leaving the flowers on the Queens street where her son, a cop, was killed.
The bright bouquets she would see on holidays lifted her, even in her moments of unspeakable grief — which is to say every day since a gunman took away her boy two years ago.
Brian Moore’s mom, Irene, got the answer in the most unexpected way on Thursday, when the aunt of her son’s killer surprised her at a memorial commemorating the young cop’s life and death.
“I will never forget Brian Moore, and I would love to hug his mother,” Debbi Blackwell Cook said. And then the meeting she had envisioned for 24 months actually happened.
Nervously, Cook shuffled over to Irene Moore after the ceremony at 212th Place and 104th Road in Queens Village, where the 25-year-old Moore was killed.
“My nephew did this,” Cook said.
A tear slid from her eye, and Cook didn’t know if she was going to get a slap in the face or a kiss on the cheek.
She got a big hug, the kind she gets from people in her own family or from friends she has known forever. Then she breathed again.
“Thank you so much for saying that. Thank you,” Moore said. “In the midst of the horror and the tragedy, you do meet really wonderful people. These are the gifts in the midst of the pain.”
Moore, the son of retired NYPD Sgt. Raymond Moore, was shot in the head during a traffic stop onMay 2, 2015. He died two days later and was posthumously promoted to detective.
The five-year NYPD cop made 159 arrests in his career and received medals for Excellent Police Duty and Meritorious Police Duty.
A Queens street near the 105th Precinct stationhouse where he was based was renamed in Moore’s honor.
Demetrius Blackwell, 35, of Queens Village, was charged in Moore’s slaying. He pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment of charges including aggravated murder and first- and second-degree murder.
Blackwell, who is awaiting trial, is scheduled for a May 11 court hearing.
He faces life in prison without parole if he’s convicted.
Cook told Moore she’s Blackwell’s aunt. And she told her something else as well.
“I had wondered who put the flowers there,” Moore replied.
Cook said the two women have something else in common — both lost a son to gun violence.
Cook said hers, D’Roderick Jefferson Cook, was killed on Easter Sunday four year ago in Baltimore. He was only 28.
“I know what it feels like, because I lost my son,” Cook said.
“It’s a mother’s pain,” Moore said.
Earlier, Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill joined cops at the Moore’s stationhouse to unveil a memorial honoring the cop who worked in an anti-crime unit.
At the site where Moore was shot, officers placed a wreath to remember him. Cook, a singer, lives across the street.
“I didn’t know if you were going to punch me,” Cook said. Moore laughed. She didn’t expect laughing this day.
“I think our sons are together anyway,” Cook said.
“Well,” replied Moore, “they certainly are now.” she’d be