Proud of my Council Member Brad Lander for being the first politician to capture the complexity of this issue. His statement is re-posted here in its entirety. We can at once grieve for the families of Ramos, Liu, Garner and Brown. These acts of humanity need not be mutually exclusive. We are better than this. cc: Matt Giftos ~~~~ Our City is Black and Blue Our deepest sympathies go to the families of Officer Rafael Ramos and Officer Wenjian Liu, who were brutally killed because they chose careers of public service in the NYPD, and to risk their safety for ours. Officer Rafael Ramos just turned 40 a few weeks ago. He was born and raised in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, and married in 1993. He worked previously as a school safety agent before fulfilling his dream of becoming a cop three years ago. He was deeply religious, and a good neighbor. He is mourned by a wife, a son in college in Maine, and most poignantly by his 13-year-old son Jaden, whose birthday greetings on Facebook for his dad earlier this month read as follows: “Happy birthday to the best dad in the world, you are always there for me even when its almost impossible. We have so many good times its not even funny, I love you so much.....How does it feel to be 40 ? Your getting old dad but you still look good . Hope you have the best birthday, you deserve it.” Officer Liu, 32, was married just two months ago and is a seven-year veteran of the force. He also lived in Brooklyn, in Gravesend. In addition to his wife, his parents were at Woodhull Hospital on Saturday evening, dealing with the most unimaginable tragedy of the utterly senseless loss of a child. We haven’t yet learned enough about him. I hope we will in the coming days (As with the hostages killed in recent days by the brutal murderers of ISIS, I believe its important to remember them for who they were, and not only for how they died). Responsibility for this heinous, cowardly crime rests with its perpetrator, the murderous and deranged Ismaaiyl Brinsley. In this case, we do not need the criminal justice system to pursue justice for us. He takes responsibility for this evil act to his grave. This killing is particularly cold-blooded and brutal because Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were killed simply for being NYPD officers. Policing is always dangerous and necessary business – as the too-long list of officers killed in the line of duty makes painfully clear. I wish we lived in a city and a world with far less violence. But in the city we have, we ask them to put their safety on the line, and give them the authorization to use deadly force to keep us safe. There is no contradiction between supporting NYPD officers and wanting the department – like the rest of the city – to strive to be its best self. I’ve worked hard to support the NYPD precincts that I have the honor to represent – to help make sure they have the resources they need, to be their partner in tough cases, to express the gratitude of our community. And I have also worked hard – from last year’s passage of the Community Safety Act to this year’s BlackLivesMatter rallies – to push for policy reforms so that the NYPD can work to keep our communities safe without profiling our neighbors based on their race or religion. That is not always easy … but I know that we can do both. So many of our cops work hard to build the bridges that make it possible. And so many of our criminal justice reform activists work to reduce violence and have the backs of their local precincts. I utterly reject the claim that somehow Mayor de Blasio, or Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, or peaceful protestors have responsibility for the killing of Officers Ramos and Liu, because they have recognized the pain of the Garner and Brown families and spoken honestly about the need to improve police/community relations. It is outrageous, offensive, and entirely unhelpful to make this claim. And I also utterly reject any calls for violence, or any justifications of revenge, in the names of Eric Garner or Mike Brown. Both the Garner and Brown families have spoken out strongly against the murders of Liu and Ramos, and they have consistently condemned any violence – directed at law enforcement, or anyone else – as a response to their sons’ deaths. The tradition of non-violent protest from Gandhi and Martin Luther King is the right one. I have been proud of New Yorkers for maintaining peace in recent weeks (unlike what we saw in St. Louis), and we must work hard to keep it that way. We cannot allow an evil and deranged individual to further polarize us. We are better than that. The lives of Officers Ramos and Liu mattered. We must honor them, and do all we can to support police officers and help make sure they are safe. The lives of Eric Garner and Mike Brown and Akai Gurley mattered. We should learn from their deaths as well, and take the steps we can to prevent senseless deaths and ruined lives. In the days to come, we will need to continue our conversations about policing and public policy, about accountability and justice. About how police officers can work to keep all communities safe, keep themselves safe, and protect the civil rights of all New Yorkers. About what we can do to reduce gun violence, get illegal guns off the streets, and invest in the safety of our neighborhoods. Today, we mourn Officer Ramos and Officer Liu, and we grieve with their families. Their brutal murder was evil and senseless. But their too-short lives of service were full of beauty and purpose. Let’s make sure to honor their lives. Brad Lander
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 20:09:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015