NYPD Detectives Wenjian Liu, Rafael Ramos remembered 10 years since their tragic killing
NEW YORK - A special ceremony was held Friday to honor two NYPD detectives murdered on the job a decade ago.
The city paused to remember the loss of Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.
On Dec. 20, 2014, police say an armed man shot the two detectives, who were officers at the time, as they were sitting inside their patrol car in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
The suspect died by suicide in a nearby subway station. The detectives died at the hospital.
"Not a day goes by that I don't think about that horrible day," Liu's wife Pei Xia Chen said.
A decade later, her emotions are just as raw. She spoke at a memorial service Friday in honor of her late husband and his partner. She graciously thanked the NYPD for 10 years of support.
"We pray that every day you go home safe to your families," she said.
Through IVF, Liu's wife gave birth to their daughter Angelina in 2017.
"I love my daddy so much, and I am so proud of my daddy," Angelina Liu said.
Ramos' wife had a message for police officers.
"Live your life every day and appreciate your families, hug them, love them and go out there and make the biggest difference you can," Maritza Ramos said.
"An incomprehensible shock"
"The assassination of the detectives was such an incomprehensible shock," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Mayor Eric Adams was Brooklyn Borough President at the time. He said he remembers the call, and will forever think back to their bravery.
"Different cultures, different communities, different life stories, but one goal - to become a member of the New York City police department."
While rookie police officers never had the chance to meet the two detectives, friends in the department said their legacy will live on forever.
"We all know that not every day is promised, but we go with the strength knowing that others have paid the ultimate sacrifice," Ramos' friend Jose Falero said.
The families have turned their pain into purpose over the last 10 years, setting up foundations in honor of the two detectives, and to never forget.
"We chose to step forward, to serve where service is needed to honor God's moments that are bigger than ourselves," J.W. COrtes of the Detective Rafael Ramos Foundation said.
Over the summer, an elementary school in Brooklyn was renamed in honor of Ramos.
