Officer Edwards to Get Posthumous Promotion

By JOHN P. WISE

Updated 7:21 AM EST, Thu, Jun 4, 2009

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A fallen NYPD officer is expected to be promoted posthumously to detective this morning -- before he is laid to rest.

The posthumous honor is expected to be announced today at the Brooklyn funeral of Officer Omar Edwards, who was shot dead by friendly fire last week. Hundreds of police officers are expected to gather for the funeral.

The honor will more than double the rookie officer's salary to about $104,000, allowing his family better death benefits.

Edwards was killed May 28 in East Harlem. He was off-duty and in street clothes when he began chasing a man who broke into his car. Other plainclothes officers on patrol spotted the pair and ordered them to halt. When Edwards turned toward them with his gun out, Officer Andrew Dunton shot him three times.

The tragedy has prompted an outcry from U.S. Sen Charles Rangel and the Rev. Al Sharpton, among others, who claim race played a factor in the shooting. Dunton is white; Edwards was black.

District Attorney Robert Morgenthau spoke publicly about the tragedy for the first time today, saying he'll be able to impartially lead the investigation into the shooting.

"I investigated the last shooting of a black officer by a white officer in Manhattan, indicted the shooter and sent him to prison," Morgenthau said. "So there should be no doubt the chips will fall where they may (in the current case)."

Both Rangel and Sharpton are calling for a federal investigation.

You can watch Edwards' funeral Thursday at 10 a.m. on NBCNewYork.com.