New York Daily News

Marching on from tragedy

Slain cop’s kin join de Blasio at parade

- BY EDGAR SANDOVAL and REUVEN BLAU

SLAIN OFFICER Miosotis Familia was honored as a hero Sunday during the 35th annual Dominican Day Parade.

Her daughter, Genesis Villella, 20, marched up Sixth Ave. beside Mayor de Blasio as merengue music filled the air.

Familia, a 48-year-old mother of three, was assassinat­ed by a cop-hating schizophre­nic man as she sat inside a mobile command vehicle on E. 183rd St. and Creston Ave. in Fordham Heights in the Bronx on July 5.

“I just want to say thank you you to the entire Dominican Day Parade for dedicating . . . something as significan­t as this to my mother,” Villella said. “She deserved it.”

Familia’s 12-year-old twins, Delilah and Peter Vega, held a large photo of their fallen mother as they marched past a a sea of red, white and blue.

The family initially got caught in the middle of the mayoral election campaign, and the children were not sure they would participat­e in the parade.

Bo Dietl, a retired detective and independen­t mayoral candidate, announced he was planning to march with the kids. But the children decided to march with the mayor instead.

The move infuriated Dietl, who noted de Blasio visited Germany after the fatal shooting and before the funeral.

On Sunday, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (DManhattan) said Dominican New Yorkers have contribute­d to the city’s rich history for decades, and Familia was no exception.

“Without the Dominican community, New York would not be what it is right now,” he said. “Police Officer Familia, she was a hero to us. She paid the ultimate price for you and I to walk the streets in safety.”

Then he declared solidarity in combined English and Spanish, saying, “Today, all of us somos (are) Familia.”

Many revelers said they attended the parade to celebrate their culture and honor Familia’s sacrifice.

“I love Dominican food, music, our unity. But we are also here to honor a woman who died doing her job,” said Virginia Caro, 23, of the Bronx. “I love my Dominican culture.”

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 ??  ?? Loved ones of slain Officer Miosotis Familia march Sunday in Dominican Day Parade (top) with NYPD Commish James O’Neill at far left. Above, Mozart La Para performs on Daily News float.
Loved ones of slain Officer Miosotis Familia march Sunday in Dominican Day Parade (top) with NYPD Commish James O’Neill at far left. Above, Mozart La Para performs on Daily News float.

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