The street outside Miosotis Familia’s police precinct has been renamed in her honor, one year after she was gunned down. Pat Battle reports on the emotional renaming.
What to Know
- NYPD officer Miosotis Familia was gunned down last July 5 as she sat in her mobile command unit in the Bronx
- Officer Familia's daughter spoke and broke down at a midnight vigil remembering her mother
- In a show of support, the city on Thursday will honor Familia by renaming part of Ryer Avenue in her memory
For those who loved and worked with NYPD officer Miosotis Familia, the pain is still fresh one year after she was gunned down.
Hundreds of people gathered at the 46th Precinct station house on Ryer Avenue in the Bronx to remember the 48-year-old mother of three and 12-year department veteran shot who died in the line of duty last July 5 as she sat in her mobile command unit.
Familia's 21-year-old daughter Genesis Villella fought back tears as she spoke at the midnight vigil honoring her mother.
“I hope one day everyone, not just people in the job, everyone can have the same positive outlook on life," she said through a quiver in her voice. "As crazy as it is that everybody can see the cup half full just like my mom did.”
In a show of support, the city on Thursday honored Familia by renaming part of Ryer Avenue by the stationhouse in her memory. It is now called Detective Miosotis Familia Way.
Thousands of family members, friends and colleagues attended her funeral last July. Familia was posthumously promoted to first-grade detective.
Familia was in an RV-like command post stationed in a Bronx precinct last year when 34-year-old Alexander Bonds, unprovoked, walked up to the vehicle and fired once through the passenger window, striking her in the head. Bonds ran from the scene but police caught up to him and opened fire, killing him after they said he turned the gun on them. Bonds had sought psychiatric care just days earlier.
Familia is the first female NYPD officer to die in the line of duty since 9/11. She spent her entire career in the Bronx precinct where she was killed.
