Brave men were buried under the soil of America.

This week New York City buried the second of two of it’s valiant Officers: Det Wenjian Liu and Det. Rafael Ramos. Their families’ roots went beyond this city of towers and tears.  The sounds of bagpipes, drums and motorcycles wafted over the ocean of saddest blue.

Law enforcement from far off came to pay respects because Police Officers were being laid to rest at a much too early End of Tour.

These Brother cops worked in the Brooklyn section of America. They were sitting in their patrol car one December afternoon, observing, protecting, serving the people of the city of New York, the people of the State of New York, the people of America. I visited that site of their last glimpse of life, the site where an assassin let fly hatred in the form of lead. Lead that would run these sidewalks red.

But as I stood there trying to imagine that hour of death I wondered what would have happened if these Police Officers  were involved with a few other Officers in taking action on these sidewalks. Right in front of the windows of Mike’s Pizza? What if they were trying to take into custody someone not willing to be taken.

In the course of that resistance the death of a citizen might have occurred right there at Myrtle and Tomkins. These fine Officers would not then be hailed as heroes but denigrated as murderers. They wouldn’t be called the, “Good Guys” they were but more likely part of a “gang”: Dec. 4, 2014 NY Times Editorial “…Officer Panteleo and his gang…”

Yes, that’s right. NYC Police were called “gang” members before Officers Ramos and Liu were killed.  Are NYC Police Officers of MS 13 service? Are they of the same stripe of Crips or Bloods? Are they members of a crime family?

Is it possible terms such as this inflamed the already badly troubled brain in the skull of Ismaailyl Brinsley? If Police Officers are termed members of a gang would they not be candidates for a retributive “drive-by”? Recall Brinsley’s: “They take one of our we take two of theirs.”

But the people of New York City support their police. They showed it words, signs and acts of kindness, acts of love:

Many thousands of arrests are made for low level crimes in the city of New York in which the subjects resist arrest. Verbal turns to physical. Necessary force is employed. Citizens get hurt. Cops get hurt. People sometimes die…needlessly. Those are the basics of what we see in NYC and America. The mechanics of what follows these basics can be debated as error or not. But the failure to comply was the ignition, the detonator, of the whole social bomb.

But there is yet to be heard the cry from NYC Mayor de Blasio, an urging, a demand, “You simply must comply with the police.” We hear no pleading, “Please respect lawful authority.” The absence of such urging seems to imply that doing so would be acceding to an occupation force, an enemy… a “gang”. Are our leaders and the media concerned that such pleas would be against the current and popular anti-police theme. Are they afraid of being seen as “sleeping with the enemy?” Isn’t it time THEY showed some bravery?

Police Officers Ramos and Liu were fortunate to have never been in such circumstances where resistance ended in death. They were saved from portrayal as murderous villains rather than valiant servants. But they could not be saved from the bullets that took them from us and their families.

Det. Liu and Det. Ramos are buried now beneath the soil of America. They are gone from the ranks of their Brothers and Sisters who serve all across this free land. They are gone from the arms of their families. Gone forever, so young, so dedicated, so loved.

But they will never be gone from the memories of those who served with them. Never be gone from the thoughts of their loved ones.

God bless them for their service. God bless the NYPD. God bless those who serve and protect across America.

God bless America.

Be well,

Leebythesea