By Sadef Ali Kully
On a bright, sunny day the funeral for slain NYPD Officer Brian Moore was held Friday morning with his family, close friends and elected officials amid a sea of blue at St. James Roman Catholic Church in Seaford, L.I.
NYPD officers from all parts of the city, state and across the country, as far as away as Arizona, had come to honor their fallen colleague.
His father Raymond Moore, his mother Irene Moore and his sister Christine Moore were joined by Police Commissioner William Bratton, Mayor de Blasio and his wife, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.).
The arrival of Moore’s coffin was greeted by a single bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace,” at St. James where NYPD Chaplain Monsignor Robert Romano met Moore’s casket.
Romano began the funeral by removing the NYPD flag from the coffin and peppered it with holy water, since Moore had been baptized as a Roman Catholic. The funeral ended with eulogies from Bratton and de Blasio.
Moore, 25, who was shot in the head in the line of duty last weekend and succumbed to his injuries Monday, was promoted to first grade detective, Bratton announced toward the end of his eulogy.
De Blasio said Moore represented the best of the best.
“He gave what President Abraham Lincoln called ‘the last full measure of devotion to that cause,’”the mayor said.
Moore enjoyed his life to the fullest and enjoyed his work, which was in his blood because he came from a long line of police officers in the family, and it was a childhood dream for him to emulate his father, de Blasio said.
Moore’s father, uncle and cousins are all current and retired members of the NYPD.
Bratton mentioned the current state of affairs for police across the country.
“We need more like him because Brian’s death comes at a time of great challenge for police officers across the country. A handful of incidents—fewer than a dozen—have wrongfully come to represent the hundreds of millions of interactions cops across the country have every year, when they help and protect, when they offer security and succor. What is lost is officers like Brian Moore, and the people he served.”
Moore’s coffin was carried out by NYPD officers and a procession led by bagpipers followed by his family, close friends and members of the NYPD.
Reach Reporter Sadef Ali Kully by e-mail at skull
