Hundreds of NYPD officers turn their back on de Blasio as he speaks at funeral for executed cop before her three kids give heartbreaking eulogy
- Bill de Blasio was snubbed by NYPD officers outside World Changers Church in The Bronx on Tuesday
- The mayor was attending the funeral of slain police officer Miosotis Familia who was shot dead on July 5
- Outside the church, officers turned their backs to screens broadcasting his speech in a show of protest
- De Blasio sparked criticism by flying to Hamburg last week in the days after Familia's killing
- He missed a vigil held in her honor in order to speak at an anti G-20 protest and visit his son in Hamburg
- Officer Familia's three children also spoke at the emotional funeral on Tuesday morning
- Thousands of NYPD officers lined the streets outside the church to make way for her funeral procession
Bill de Blasio was snubbed by NYPD officers at the funeral of executed cop Miosotis Familia on Tuesday in a show of protest over his decision to go to Germany last week in the immediate aftermath of her death.
Familia, a 48-year-old single mother-of-three, was shot dead in The Bronx as she made notes in her patrol car in the early hours of July 5. Her killer, paranoid schizophrenic Anthony Bonds, 34, was gunned down by other police officers as he tried to flee.
On Tuesday, thousands packed World Changers Church in The Bronx to lay Familia, a single mother-of-three, to rest.
Outside, scores more stood beneath screens and speakers which broadcast the service. When de Blasio appeared on screen, some turned their backs on him in a show of protest over his decision to go to Hamburg last week in the immediate aftermath of the officer's death, The New York Post reported.
During his unannounced trip, De Blasio spoke at a protest against the then ongoing G-20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg. Bizarrely, he used his appearance at the anti-establishment demonstration to laud his own police force.
The trip meant that he missed a vigil for officer Familia on Saturday. It outraged New York City residents and caught the attention of President Trump criticized it on Twitter.
On Tuesday, de Blasio, in an apparent attempt to redeem himself, gave an impassioned speech calling for increased support of police officers.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio also spoke at the police officer's funeral. Some mourners later told how cops gathered outside turned their backs to screens showing him speaking in a sign of protest, still angry that he left the city last week immediately after her death to attend the G-20 summit in Germany
He greeted former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton before he took his seat at the front of the church
Oblivious to the protest outside, he said: 'We've watched with horror these attacks on our police here in New York City and all around our country. It sickens us, and we know they cannot be tolerated, and we know they must end.
'But in fact,' he added, 'we must end it. It's not a one-way street, my friends. We must help our police in every way, just as we ask them to help us in our moment of need. ... They need us to be their eyes and ears. They need our solidarity and support.
De Blasio went on to call the Familia a 'beautiful New York City story' and said she 'embodied the American spirit'.
'She embodied the American dream' and "a beautiful New York City story,' de Blasio said Tuesday, calling Familia a hero who "lived life the right way."
The cops' protest was reminiscent of the 2015 funeral of Wenjian Liu who was also killed by a cop-hating gunman.
At the time, officers thought de Blasio was against them. On Tuesday, the mayor called for outrage over the Familia's death and said the public ought to support the force now more than ever.
The women's three children struggled to contain their emotion as they emerged from the church after the service. 12-year-old Peter Vega burst in to tears, holding on to his older sister's arm for support
The siblings led thousands of mourners out of the church immediately after the service on Tuesday morning
Twelve-year-old Peter held on to his sister as they followed their mother's casket out of the church
Other police officers presented Familia's 12-year-old son Peter with a flag as his older sister and twin sister watched
The three children later held their composure as others around them broke down to mourn their mother
Genesis Villella, the 20-year-old daughter of slain police officer Miosotis Familia, hugs her younger half-siblings, 12-year-old twins Peter and Delilah Vega, at their mother's funeral at World Changers Church in The Bronx on Tuesday
The woman's children said they were 'so proud' she was a police officer and thanked their 'blue family' in the NYPD for supporting them since her death last week
The siblings were joined on stage by their grandmother Adriana Valloy and another relative
More family members joined them on afterwards and surrounded them in a hug as the congregation applauded
Familia's mother, Adriana Valoy, wept into a handkerchief after the service and had to be comforted by other relatives
The woman's elderly mother was at the front of the procession which filed out of the church after the service
He was followed by officer Familia's three children.
Recalling their final conversation, the woman's 20-year-old daughter Genesis said through tears: 'She said "I love you, I’m going to work now." And she gave me a really big, tight hug, and I said, "I love you, mom." … I asked her for one more hug. She said, "of course, you can."'
Her 12-year-old brother Peter said: 'She was brave enough to do that knowing that there's consequences, like danger, but she loved us. 'She wanted to sacrifice for us, so she did it.'
Also on stage was Peter's twin sister Delilah.
Adding that she was 'so proud' her mother was a cop, Genesis thanked her own family and their 'bigger family of blue'. NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill choked back his own tears as he addressed the 48-year-old's family.
'Nothing I could say could bring your mom back. But I can make you this promise: your mom didn't die in vain.
'Your mom's legacy will never fade from the importance of memory. Your mom made it her mission to make your home, New York City, a better and safer place for everyone.
'And I vow to you, we will continue to find our way forward in her honor, because that's what cops do.'
Thousands packed the church in The Bronx on Tuesday morning to pay their respects to the single mother-of-three
New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill prepares to take his seat at the front of the church
NYPD officers carried the 48-year-old's flag-draped coffin out of the church on their shoulders
A sea of police officers line up on the Grand Concourse in The Bronx ahead of the Tuesday morning service
Thousands of officers in full uniform descended on the street. They were joined by plain clothes officers
Police officers wipe their tears as she listens to the funeral service outside the church on Tuesday
A police officer holds her hand to her head in grief as she mourns outside the church on Tuesday
Police lined the Grand Concourse as Familia's hearse was led away from the church on Tuesday morning
NYPD officers saluted outside the church as the hearse was driven past. Thousands attended the service
A sea of police officers line up outside the church ahead of the funeral on Tuesday
Police congregated on the Grand Concourse after the funeral to line the pathway for the hearse carrying Familia's coffin
Thousands descended on the Grand Concourse to pay their respects to Familia
Officers stood at attention to salute the hearse carrying the woman's coffin as it drove past
Police officers from Dubai were among those who attended the funeral to pay their respects on Tuesday
Others left tributes to the police officer outside the 46th Precinct in The Bronx, where she worked
A child and man hold a sign protesting against police deaths outside the funeral at World Changers Church in The Bronx
A sea of police in blue uniforms filled the landmark Bronx movie theater and the street outside to pay tribute to Familia, a 12-year officer, former health care worker and single mother of three who also cared for her 86-year-old mother. A child of immigrants who was the first person in her family to go to college, she had always wanted to be a police officer, her family said.
Familia was posthumously promoted Tuesday to detective. And to her family, she was also a "protector, defender, guidance counselor, spiritual adviser ... philosopher, philanthropist, theorist and mother,' said her 20-year-old daughter, Genesis Vilella.
Familia, 48, was in an RV-like command post stationed in a crime-ridden Bronx precinct early Wednesday when 34-year-old Alexander Bonds walked up to the vehicle and fired once through the passenger window, striking Familia in the head. Bonds 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.
An ex-convict, he had railed about police and prison officers in a Facebook video last fall.
At the wake Monday, Bronx resident Bill Simpson, 56, said he felt the need to mourn the loss of Familia, even though he never met her.
'It hurt everybody. All of us feel it,' he said.
After joining the NYPD in 2005, Familia worked her entire career in The Bronx precinct where she was killed. Familia is the first female New York Police Department officer to die in the line of duty since 9/11.
Officer Miosotis Familia was shot dead as she wrote in her notebook while sitting in her patrol car in The Bronx last Wednesday. Her killer was Anthony Bonds, a 34-year-old paranoid schizophrenic who was killed by other officers
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