For the second time in the past week, mourners gathered for a funeral for New York Police Department (NYPD) officer. “An ocean of officers” honored Officer Wilbert Mora, the second of two officers shot and killed while responding to a call about a domestic argument in a Harlem apartment. The funeral for the other officer, Jason Rivera, was held last week.
“An ocean of officers shouldn’t have to line streets for the second time in five days to mourn the appalling loss of a 27-year-old son and brother,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at Officer Mora’s funeral.
“How many Wilberts and how many Jasons, how many more police officers, will have to lose their lives so that the system changes,” Mora’s sister Karina asked.
“Legislators, crime ended the lives of two exemplary young men who only offered their best to their city,” she said. “Take action. Enough is enough.”
Mora’s brother Wilson also spoke at the funeral. He described his brother’s “love for life” as “infectious.”
“I just want you to know that I was always proud of you,” Wilson said. “You chose a life of service to your community and to our adopted country.”
In addition to being the second NYPD officer funeral in a week, Mora’s funeral also came just hours after another NYPD officer was shot in the shoulder on the way to work in what authorities are calling an apparent robbery attempt. The officer, who is expected to recover, is the sixth NYPD officer to be shot so far this year. The officer shootings highlight a series of high-profile New York City crimes in the month of January. In one of those crimes, a man pushed a woman in front of a moving subway, killing her.
“This has been a painful last few weeks, but the pain unites us in this moment,” Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday. He vowed to “build a city of peace out of the ashes of fear.”