What to Know
- Mourners honored an NYPD officer assassinated while insider her police vehicle last week in the Bronx
- Officer Miosotis Familia was sitting in a marked NYPD mobile command unit in the Bronx when she was shot and killed last week
- Officer Familia was a 12-year veteran of the NYPD and a mother of three, including a 20-year-old daughter and 12-year-old twins
A police officer killed on the job was remembered at her wake for her smiles and kindness as mourners, including the current and former heads of the police department, joined members of the rank and file and neighborhood residents at a church to honor her.
The line outside World Changers Church in the Bronx on Monday afternoon extended several blocks as people waited to pay their respects to Officer Miosotis Familia, who was shot and killed while sitting inside her police vehicle last week.
Among those who visited were NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill and his predecessor, former Commissioner William Bratton. They were joined by those who served with Officer Familia, a 12-year veteran of the department who worked out of a Bronx precinct.
Officer Familia, 48, was "a true asset to this department, to this city, a beautiful person inside and out, a loving mother, loving to her co-workers, always had a smile and a few kind words for everybody," said her commanding officer, Inspector Philip Rivera.
Julio Rodriguez came from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to pay his respects, joined by Jose Luis Monche, who came from Miami. The two said they grew up with Officer Familia and her siblings in the Washington Heights section of upper Manhattan. They remembered her energy and joy.
"She had that timeless, infectious smile," Monche said.
Gov. Cuomo attended the evening visitation. He called it a "tremendously sad day" as he referenced the death Sunday night of a New York State Police trooper allegedly shot by a soldier who is accused of just killing his wife at their home near his Army base.
"It's important to remember the sacrifice that the men and women of law enforcement make for the people of this state," Cuomo said.
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Mayor de Blasio also attended the wake Monday night but left without speaking to reporters. The mayor has been criticized for skipping a vigil for Officer Familia to spend a weekend with world leaders in Germany.
Officer Familia, a mother of three children including 12-year-old twins, was writing in her memo book at the end of her shift early last Wednesday when a man walked up to the police vehicle where she was sitting and fired.
The man, Alexander Bonds, had sought psychiatric care just days earlier. He was shot dead by police soon after the attack.
The funeral is scheduled for Tuesday.
