Officers unite to respect slain brothers
By Charles W. Kim, Packet Media Group
PRINCETON – More than 40 candles flickered in the hazy mist of Tiger Park Tuesday night as police officers from the region, family members and others joined together to pay tribute to two New York City policemen gunned down as they sat in their squad car in Brooklyn on Saturday.
“It is a vigil to remember the sacrifice the two officers in New York gave,” Princeton Police Officer and Policemens Benevolent Association Local # 387 member Daniel Federico said as he handed out candles to the assembly. “We got the idea on Saturday into Sunday and put up some notices on Facebook and law enforcement (web) sites. It all came together (Monday).”
NYPD Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were sitting in a marked patrol car in front of 98 Tompkins Avenue in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn Saturday afternoon at 2:47 p.m. when a man, identified as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, of Baltimore, Maryland, opened fire through the passenger window of the squad car, hitting both officers in the head, according to New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton.
Mr. Brinsley then proceeded down to a nearby subway platform and shot himself in the head with a silver, semi-automatic Tarus handgun, according to police.
All three of the men died in the assault.
According to his social media posts before the shooting, Mr. Brinsley was seeking revenge for the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York, both killed in confrontations with police earlier this year.
Grand juries in both cases did not indict the involved officers in those incidents sparking protests in several cities throughout the country.
Officers from Princeton, Hopewell, Trenton and Hamilton as well as some of their family members and others stood silently on the sidewalk in front of the park holding candles and listening to a handful of speakers during the brief 15-minute event.
“Everyone who signs up to be a police officer knows there could come a time where they don’t go home at the end of their shift,” Officer Federico, who organized the vigil on behalf of the PBA, said. “Whenever there is a law enforcement officer that gives his life in the service, we all feel it. We want to stand out here to show everyone that we are all affected by this.”
Officer Federico said that while tensions between police and some people are running high due to the recent incidents, he would like the people of Princeton to know that his department is there to serve the township and its residents.
“We come to work everyday to serve the community,” he said. “We put on the uniform everyday to serve them. That’s why we are here.”
Chief of Police Nicholas Sutter said that police always come together in a time of need and that the families of the officers in New York need the support of other law enforcement officers.
“We are like a family,” he said. “We are here to support them and to come together sand say it’s time to stop the violence that is going on around the nation.”
He said that Princeton residents should know that they have a department committed to always doing the right thing and always there to help.
Township Councilman Lance Liverman brought the regards and support of the governing body and Mayor Liz Lempert.
“I support the police 100 percent,” Mr. Liverman said. “It is tragic to lose any officer, it is more tragic when it is done in such a callous and heartless way.”
Hamilton Police Officer Robert Whartenby, a 12-year veteran, said he came to the vigil to show support for his fellow officers that were lost in New York and show solidarity with officers throughout the region.
“There are a lot of good police officers that work day-in and day-out to protect the citizens of the township as well as the state and across the country,” he said. “Everyone needs support, whether it’s police, fire (or) civilian. We need to support each other.”
He said the rhetoric used by both sides in the recent controversies are tearing people apart in the states and the country, and that everyone needs to come together now.
“It’s not a ‘left’ or ‘right’ thing,” he said. “It’s not a police against the world thing.”
Princeton’s St. Paul’s Parish Monsignor Joseph Rosie also attended the vigil and offered prayers for the fallen officers and for healing during the holiday season.
Before the vigil, Monsignor Rosie said that he was asked to come by several local officers that are members of his congregation and that he wanted to pray for peace and calm regarding the tensions these deadly events have brought.
“As people we have to learn to listen and to respect and to talk to one another,” he said. “Anyway we can invigorate lines of communication. Rhetoric can get out of hand on all sides and this is a good opportunity, in a quiet way, in a respectful way, to bring a bit of silence and peace to happen.”

