'Love You Tata': 100s Attend Inwood Memorial Run For Slain Cop

INWOOD, NY — Inwood residents descended on the sidewalk outside Tryon Public House on Thursday night with athletic gear, Dyckman Run Club hoodies, and a sense of solidarity as the community sought to memorialize their friend and neighbor, Jason Rivera.

Rivera, 22, was an Inwood native who received his police badge less than a year ago, not long after attending WHEELS High School in Washington Heights. He was gunned down last week responding to a domestic dispute in Harlem.

• Read More: 'He Was So Young': Officer Jason Rivera's Funeral Held In Midtown

Rivera was also a member of the Dyckman Run Club, which he joined to get in better shape for the police academy.

Within the club, he was lovingly called "Tata."

"He was our little brother, we have to pay homage and pay tribute the best way we know how, and that's running," Elvin Adames, one of the founders of Dyckman Run Club, told Patch. "The response to his death just shows what he did was the right path, and today he's inspiring us. Especially, for this community, you don't see this a lot of up here," he said, gesturing to the masses of people gathered at the edge of Fort Tryon Park.

At one point, Adames led the group through a call and response chant, saying, "Love you" as the crowd responded with "Tata."

Powerful moment before the Dyckman Run Club set off for its memorial run Thursday night for slain police officer and Inwood native Jason “Tata” Rivera.

Rivera was also a member of the uptown running club.

Hundreds of people attended the event and chanted his name. pic.twitter.com/YHrkzIQhCR
— Gus Saltonstall (@GusSaltonstall) January 28, 2022

Kevin Linares, an Inwood native and basketball trainer who coached Rivera, also brought up the strong community response to the rookie police officer's passing as an indication of the type of person he was.

“I’m part of the Dyckman basketball program, so Jason had come up with our program. I got a chance to coach Jason, mentor Jason, I just saw him three months ago on the job with his uniform and said thank you and told him I’m proud of him, because I know he’s going to do some good work," Linares told Patch.

"The crowd tonight shows the impact that he had — he was just a beautiful soul."

After remarks were given by Dyckman Run Club members and other local figures, the group went through a series of stretches before taking off on a two-mile run through Fort Tryon Park in honor of Rivera.

"Over the pandemic, [the club] grew into this awesome community. Similar to how Dyckman Street is more than just a street, Dyckman Run Club is more than just a run club — it's a family," Niall Henry, the owner of Tryon Public House and one of the organizers of Thursday night's memorial, told Patch.

As runners returned from the memorial jog, many of them spilled into Tryon Public House, arm in arm, telling stories about Rivera.