Parsippany Mayor: Officers Deserve Gratitude, Respect

An already tension-filled relationship between law enforcement and the general public was filled with more strain over the weekend, when a gunman shot and killed two New York City police officers before taking his own life.

Those officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, were sitting in a patrol car Saturday afternoon in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn when gunman Ismaaiyl Brinsley attacked them unprovoked, killing both.

The tragedy sparked Parsippany Mayor James Barberio to take action locally, spurring a letter to residents and the lowering of flags in town to half-staff.

In the letter, Barberio says:

“As Mayor of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, I feel it necessary to acknowledge the tragic assassination of two Brooklyn police officers while they sat in their patrol car this past weekend. I am deeply saddened by this heinous crime and my heart goes out to the families of the officers who won’t be home for Christmas. The police officers that serve and protect our communities deserve our gratitude and respect. Their families certainly do not deserve this.”

The note continued, “So in testament to Officers Ramos and Liu and in the spirit of peace, I have ordered the flags at all Parsippany municipal buildings to be flown at half-staff.”