By Bill Parry
As they filed out of the 108th Precinct, the hard and angry expressions on the faces of the NYPD officers and detectives began to soften as they looked at the crowd that gathered outside their stationhouse. Hundreds of Long Island City residents turned out in a cold and misty rain to stand with the police following the assassinations of two of their own Saturday.
A candlelight prayer vigil was led by clergy from several neighborhoods in western Queens Monday following the shooting deaths of Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The tension that gripped the city in the aftermath of the tragedy hung over the crowd as each speaker called for unity.
“We’re here to let all the officers know that we support them,” City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said. “We want them to know that we as a community value their work, service and sacrifice and nothing can ever change that.”
Rabbi Zev Wineberg of Chabad of Long Island City was the first of a half dozen clergy who offered prayers of comfort and support for the men and women of the 108th. “We come together and we pray that every night they come home and that their families don’t live in fear,” he said.
Pastor Jon Storck of the Grace Fellowship Church in Sunnyside followed saying, “While we can’t make any sense of the evil that led to the loss of Officers Ramos and Liu, as New Yorkers we can all stand and grieve together with their families over this tragedy.”
No one spoke of the current climate in the city that caused uniformed policemen to turn their backs on Mayor de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton as they passed in a hallway at Woodhull Hospital following the murders Saturday. However, William Kregler, the president of the NYC Fire Marshals Benevolent Association, railed against the mayor’s call for people to set aside politics and protest until the two slain NYPD officers are buried.
“It ends here and it ends now,” Kregler said of the protests. “They’ve got to call them off now. These protests are costing the city millions and hurting business and good people are being intimidated by them. These protests are a stage to attack the police and it needs to end now. The last thing this city needs is to slip back into lawlessness.”
The officers and detectives moved about the crowd, sharing hugs and handshakes, and thanking the civilians for their support.
The evening’s final speaker was the new commanding officer of the 108th Precinct. “Looking around at my police officers intertwined with the community speaks volumes,” Capt. John Travaglia said.
He then shared a story from his experience on Sept. 11, 2001 when he was overcome with emotion while trying to account for the whereabouts of his missing fellow officers.
“A 35-year veteran grabbed me and said, ‘Keep it together – we are the police – we’ll get through this because we have no choice,’” Travaglia recalled. “I will tell you as a community we will get through these dark times because we have no choice. We are the police. We are your police.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.
