[PHOTOS] East Bay, Bay Area Police Agencies Sent Officers to NYC Funeral

PHOTO: New York Police Department (NYPD) officers carry the casket of their fellow officer Wenjian Liu to start a procession in New York’s borough of Brooklyn on January 4, 2015. A sea of blue uniformed officers crowded around a Brooklyn funeral home to honor Wenjian Liu, 32, shot in the head with partner Rafael Ramos, 40, on December 20, 2014 as the pair sat in their patrol car. The brutal double-slaying at the hands of a black gunman claiming to be avenging the deaths of African-Americans during confrontations with police shocked the nation’s largest city. CREDIT: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

By Bay City News Service:

Several Bay Area police and sheriff’s departments sent officers to attend the funeral Sunday for slain New York City police Officer Wenjian Liu.

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, San Mateo Police Department, Oakland Police Department, San Leandro Police Department, Santa Clara Police Department, San Jose Police Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and Menlo Park Police Department were just a few of the agencies that posted comments or pictures on Twitter of their officers at the funeral.

The San Francisco Police Department sent eight officers and the Asian Peace Officers’ Association also sent a group, police said.

Santa Clara police Lt. Todd Cummins said the department was deeply saddened by the tragedy. The department sent two representatives from its honor guard, he said.

“It’s a different crime when someone assassinates a police officer just because they’re police officers,” Cummins said.

San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Rebecca Rosenblatt described Liu’s death as “heinous” and said the officers wanted to support both the New York City Police Department and the New York community “in its darkest hour.”

“People always talk about law enforcement being one big family,” Rosenblatt said. “And it does, it feels like losing a member of our family or our extended family.”

Rosenblatt said three officers volunteered to make the trek, with the airfare paid by JetBlue. JetBlue representative Morgan Johnston said the airline flew 1,146 officers from across the country to attend Liu’s funeral.

“We have a long history of supporting those who support our community,” Johnston said. “New York is our home town, so we felt it was the right thing to do.”

Participants at the funeral described a “sea of blue,” as thousands of officers paid their respects.

“I think despite how sad and troublesome this event is, there is something to be said for seeing how the community of law enforcement has come to support each other,” Rosenblatt said.

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