Godspeed, Officer Ramos
At 10 this morning, the family of Rafael Ramos will gather at Christ Tabernacle Church in Glendale to bid a final farewell to the slain police officer who was the husband of Margarita, the father of Jaden and Justin and the protector of all New Yorkers.
Today, they are surrounded by other family members, friends, elected politicians, thousands of NYPD brethren and, spiritually, millions of grateful New Yorkers. But when the horror of the killing fades and time moves on for everyone else, the Ramos family will still have a hole in their lives that will never be filled.
Not that New Yorkers won’t do all they can. The Silver Shield Foundation — launched in 1982 by late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for the loved ones of members of NYPD officers killed in the line of duty — announced it will cover the costs of the Ramos children’s education. Meanwhile, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation has announced it will assume the remaining balances on the mortgages for the homes of both Ramos and his slain partner, Wenjian Liu. Undoubtedly, there will be other efforts, too.
Noble as all these contributions are, they cannot replace a man who was, in the words of his son Jaden, “[there] for me everyday of my life . . . the best father I could ask for.”
Some ask why a city regards a copkilling as more heinous than other killings. The answer is simple: The murder of a police officer is an attack not simply on a citizen but on the city itself.
On this sad December day, we salute Officer Rafael Ramos. We stand with his colleagues in blue who each day place themselves between us and harm’s way. And we promise Rafael Ramos’ family we will do our best to ensure his sacrifice will never be forgotten.