‘Junior’s NYPD day of honor

Scholarships named for slain teen

The Bronx teen who was murdered in a case of mistaken ID was honored Wednesday at the graduation of his fellow NYPD Explorers as his family sat in the front row.

“Ever since Junior’s death, he has been on my mind . . . as he has, I’m sure, on many other people here in this room,” NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker said of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz.

“The NYPD legacy is a rich one. And it’s rich in tradition,” said Tucker. “It’s in that spirit that the department today is posthumously honoring the life of . . . Junior . . . for the way he lived, his dedication to the tenets and the values of the Explorer program while he was with us.”

More than 250 people between the ages of 14 and 20 graduated from the academy at police headquarters following a three-week summer program designed to educate participants about careers in law enforcement.

Two NYPD Explorer highschool graduates, Malachi Nelson and Nahomi Zambrano, were awarded $5,000 college scholarships in Guzman-Feliz’s name. Four more graduates were granted $1,000 scholarships.

Every year, the New York City Police Foundation Lesandro Guzman-Feliz Memorial College Fund will provide two NYPD Explorer graduates up to $5,000 each in re- imbursement of tuition and school supplies.

“I’m so proud for the police [to] be honoring my son,” Guzman-Feliz’s mom, Leandra Feliz, told reporters. “I want to say thank you to the people who want to make it a better future.

“We have to make a change, stop the violence . . . make a difference in the world,” Feliz said.

Feliz, referring to the June 20 murder of her 15-year-old son, said: “This is so horrible and terrible for any father, any mother. Nobody deserves that. Nobody.”

“Junior . . . would be so happy being here now,” she said.

Guzman-Feliz’s sister, Genesis Collado-Feliz, 17, told The Post her brother “would have been so excited” if he were there. “I can imagine him jumping up and down,” she said. “He would have been so happy today.”

Guzman-Feliz was stabbed to death by suspected members of the Trinitarios street gang at a Bronx bodega.

Authorities believe the attackers thought he was someone else against whom they were seeking revenge.

HE WAS ONE OF US: The Explorer program classmates of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz (left), acknowledge his mother, Leandra Feliz, sister, Genesis Collado-Feliz, and father Lissandro Guzman (from near right) on Wednesday.