What to Know
- The 6th annual memorial for slain NYPD officer Miosotis Familia, a mother of three who was a 12-year department veteran when she was killed by a shot in the head while sitting in her mobile command unit in 2017 will take place Wednesday.
- Familia, who was 48-years-old at the time of her murder, came on the job in 2005, after working as a patient care assistant at New York University Hospital, and also for the American Red Cross. She spent her entire career in the Bronx precinct where she was killed. She was posthumously promoted to first-grade detective.
- Familia was in an RV-like command post stationed in a Bronx precinct July 5, 2017 when 34-year-old Alexander Bonds walked up to the vehicle and fired once through the passenger window, striking her in the head.
The 6th annual memorial for slain NYPD officer Miosotis Familia, a mother of three who was a 12-year department veteran when she was killed by a shot in the head while sitting in her mobile command unit in 2017, will take place Wednesday, according to the event organizers.
Familia was in an RV-like command post stationed in a Bronx precinct July 5, 2017 when 34-year-old Alexander Bonds walked up to the vehicle and fired once through the passenger window, striking her in the head, police said. Bonds, who had a violent history and vented his anger about police on social media, 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 to the fatal shooting.
The annual memorial will take place noon in front of the 46th precinct in the Bronx, according to a social media post by the Detective Miosotis Familia Organization.
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Familia, who was 48-years-old at the time of her murder, came on the job in 2005, after working as a patient care assistant at New York University Hospital, and also for the American Red Cross. She spent her entire career in the Bronx precinct where she was killed. She was posthumously promoted to first-grade detective.
Familia was a proud mother of three: Genesis Villella, who was 20-year-old at the time of her mother's death, and twins Delilah Vega and Peter Vega, who were 12-year-old at the time. Familia, the youngest of 10, was also caring for her 86-year-old mother when she was killed.
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Speaking at the funeral service in 2017, Genesis said she was always "so proud" of her mother.
"When I was younger, when I was a little kid, I was just so proud and so excited that my mom was a cop," she said.
Genesis recalled the last time she saw her mother and hugged her, hours before she was killed and said she was lucky to experience such a "selfless, unconditional, pure love" like her mother's.
"She was brave enough to do that knowing that there's consequences, like danger, but she loved us," said her then 12-year-old son, Peter Vega. "She wanted to sacrifice for us, so she did it."
Miosotis grew up with her family in Washington Heights before the family moved to the Bronx.
Familia was the first female NYPD officer to die in the line of duty since 9/11.
