Posted on 12/28/2014 2:55:41 PM PST by lee martell
Looking at the memorial service and subsequent funeral for Officer Rafael Ramos, I was struck by how many officers were in attendance, how intricate and well coordinated each phase of the ceremonies were performed. It's a terrible thing, of course, that these good policemen were murdered, but then I began to wonder if there is a set rule in how each incident of a downed officer is to be observed and conducted?
They could not possibly have an equally lavish, equally attended memorial service and funeral for each American Officer killed in the line of duty, even were this the wish of the bereaved. No mention is being made of Officer Charles Kondek, a father of four, killed while reacting to an unknown person loudly knocking on doors at 3am. Kondek, a Florida Officer was killed that same day. No mention is being made of Officer Tyler Stewart, a 24 y/o rookie cop killed yesterday in Flagstaff Arizona. I would think this would be too expensive to do for everybody. I'm guessing the family for Officer Wenjian Liu will opt for a private ceremony. Every family grieves in its own way. Does it depend on how much funding each individual precinct has? I can imagine New York City being better funded than Flagstaff Arizona. I was relieved to see that the police were wise enough to station rooftop lookouts in the area of the ceremony. I'm not losing any sleep over this, I'm not obsessed with it, but just curious. My sympathies to all the Officer families involved.
Reyes funeral was attended by 20-something THOUSAND cops alone! THAT guarantees a spectacle.
RAMOS! Dang it...
We lost some fire fighters not too many years ago. The procession through this little town went on for miles. It’s just how it is.
20,000 police attendees. Wow. Good.
As it should be. We need them today just as we did 100 years ago. To do this sort of public service requires the will to prioritize and to knowingly compromise one’s personal safety if need be
Not to nitpick, but I heard there were 25,000 police officers in attendance. The sea of cops outside the church is said to have been six blocks long.
Here in Maine, a number of police officers travelled to New York City for the funeral.
More is better. I was just going with a number mentioned in the earlier post.
For all I know, we had local officers there. When I was in the gym the other day, some of the county-seat police officers were talking about threats made against their department, and other weight-lifting guys were saying, in effect, “If TSHTF, we’re all Monroe PD.”
It’s a heavily armed area. I don’t think Monroe PD has anything to worry about.
“I was just going with a number mentioned in the earlier post.”
Yeah, I said “20 something” thousand because I couldn’t remember if it was 23 or 27 thousand. It was HUGE BEFORE we add in the public.
Condolences for the fallen and their families, but asking about who pays for all of this is a fair question, too, and how many are paid to be there or have their travel and accommodations paid for.
I doubt any government would be interested in financing big funerals for those in far more dangerous public service jobs (based on death rates), like convenience store clerks.
Just another sign of the separation of government employees from the people who work (and often die) to support our outsized government.
Good.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-police-officer-charles-kondek-killed-duty-remembered-funeral-n275551
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