The Downtown station house that lost two officers to a deranged gunman in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Saturday will get a memorial wall inside commemorating their lives, care of its community council.
“We want to do something permanent for these guys,” said Leslie Lewis, 25-year president of the 84th Precinct Community Council. “We are going to honor these guys forever.”
Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot dead by Ismaaiyl Brinsley as they sat in their squad car at Myrtle and Tompkins avenues on Saturday afternoon, cops said. Brinsley then ran into the Myrtle–Willoughby G station with officers in pursuit and shot himself in the head on the platform, according to the authorities.
In the days since, flowers and candles have piled up out in front of the Gold Street station house and officers and civilians have poured in to pay their respect. Inside, donations of coffee, donuts, and hot food are accumulating alongside flower arrangements.
The precinct’s commanding officer Capt. Sergio Centa tweeted his thanks on Sunday.
“The Men and Women of the 84 Precinct thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this extremely difficult time,” he wrote.
Lewis said the murdered officers’ colleagues miss them terribly.
“It’s tragic. They really were good guys,” Lewis said. “They are well thought of by the guys in the precinct. Everyone has nice things to say about them. And what more can you want in life than for people to speak well of you?”
Mayor DeBlasio held a moment of silence at City Hall and one at a memorial near the murder scene on Tuesday and some of Manhattan’s most iconic buildings dimmed their lights in remembrance that evening. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton issued a statement praising the sacrifices of the two officers, and saying that flags will continue to be flown at half-staff at precincts around the city until after Christmas.
The 84th Precinct last lost an officer in 2011, when a domestic abuser pushed Officer Alain Schaberger to his death over the railing of a Boerum Hill stoop.
A viewing for Ramos is scheduled for 2 pm-9 pm on Dec. 26 at the Christ Tabernacle Church in Glendale, Queens. Funeral services are set to be held at the church on Dec. 27 starting at 10 am. Funeral arrangements for Liu have not been publicized.
