Hundreds of people gathered outside the 107th precinct on Tuesday night during a candlelight vigil for slain police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.
Standing beside pictures of the two murdered officers and bracing themselves against the cold evening air, several elected officials addressed the crowd and urged them to commemorate the fallen cops through love and not use the incident as a political tool.
“We’re here to remember the lives of two brave police officers,” said Carolann Foley, president of the 107th Precinct’s Community Council and one of the organizers of the vigil. “We must come together during this time and comfort each other.”
The candlelight vigil in Fresh Meadows was one of the largest in the borough and it served as a call for an end to the disharmony that has rattled the city. The event was attended by officers forand community councils from the 100th, 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 105th, 106th, 107th and 113th precincts.
Assistant Chief David Barrere, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, the organization that coordinated the event, thanked people for coming out in the cold to show their support for the police.
Across Queens, similar events have taken place.
In Hamilton Beach, residents, elected officials and police from the 106th Precinct got together on Tuesday to hang 200 blue ribbons on utility poles around the neighborhood, showing their support for the NYPD.
“I’m the daughter of a retired police officer,” said Charlene O’Dea, a Hamilton Beach resident. “I want to show my support for the NYPD.”
Over the weekend, Ramos’ wake and funeral were held in Glendale, with thousands of police and others in attendance and lining the streets.
Foley originally expected the candlelight vigil to only be attended by 200 people, but she soon realized that many more would be attending.
“This is the community doing this, not the police,” Foley said. “And all of these people are coming to simply pray. What could be better than that right now for the city?”
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