Lest We Forget [Y-not]

The family, friends, and brothers in blue of Police Officer Rafael Ramos honored* him today:

*Correction: his funeral is scheduled for Saturday. Today was a tribute service.

Friends and family said the 40-year-old Ramos, who was married with two sons, was a longstanding, deeply committed member of the Christ Tabernacle Church where he will be remembered. He served as an usher and was part of the church's marriage and life group ministries.

The families of the two officers have received an outpouring of public support in the days since the assassination.

JetBlue airlines has offered free flights for police departments around the country who would like to attend the funeral for the two officers. An airline official told CNN that about 670 officers booked seats.

"We're honored to do what we can to support the communities we serve, and our team has made flights available to law enforcement agencies across our route network who wish to send representatives to New York to support their brethren," JetBlue said in a statement.

The airline has has also offered to arrange to fly in Liu's relatives from China.

Meanwhile, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation has begun to raise $800,000 they say is needed to pay off the mortgages of the slain officers. Frank Siller, the chairman of the foundation, said at press conference Friday that he'd like to complete the fundraising by the end of the year to give the families a sense of "peace and comfort."

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also announced Friday that he had contributed $20,000 to the fund and called on others to give.

Even though I lost my mom near the holidays, I cannot begin to imagine how grief-stricken these two officers' families are right now.

So tragic. So unnecessary. So avoidable.

**UPDATE:

Two Officers Killed in Ambush Are Posthumously Promoted to Detectives http://t.co/1CWjTNc595

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 27, 2014

posted by Open Blogger at 08:50 PM

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