Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Plaque Dedication Ceremony for Late Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu

December 20, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you. I want to thank everyone gathered today – all of the people here today to honor Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

I particularly want to thank the leadership of our police department – Commissioner Bratton, Chief O’Neill, and all the other leaders of the department here today. I want to thank Deputy Inspector Sergio Centa of the 84 Precinct, and all the members of this precinct, who I know feel a special and deep feeling today, as we mark this occasion. 

I want to thank all the elected officials who are with us, and the labor leaders who represent our men and women of the police force. Pat Lynch of the PBA, Mike Palladino of the DEA – thank you.

December 20 is a very solemn day for us, and it is a solemn day felt in every corner of this city. One year ago, two of New York’s Finest were attacked – were attacked because of the uniform they wore, because of the badge they wore – and it was therefore not only an attack on these two good and brave men, but an attack on all of us – an attack on everything we value and everything we hold dear.

In the weeks and months that followed, not just this city, but our nation, wept. Our nation mourned with the Ramos and Liu families, and with their extended family, the NYPD.

Amidst the pain, there was an extraordinary outpouring of love and support for these families. Thousands attended the funerals of these two good men. Donations poured in for the families, to make sure that they would be protected – to make sure their young people would be able to go to college, families would have homes.

I think the people of this city and, again, people all over the nation felt a deep connection to Detective Ramos and Detective Liu and to their families. They wanted, in any way they could, to support them in their time of need.

And part of it was the stories of these two men, because they were such authentic, and honest, and real stories that epitomized everything we think of when we think about people doing something for others, committing their lives to something good. When we think about on this earth for all the right reasons, who give back every day, we think of the stories of Detective Ramos and Detective Liu.

Detective Liu did something so noble in joining the NYPD after 9/11, because he felt it was the right thing to do. He felt a calling. Detective Ramos did something so special by entering the Police Academy at the age of 37 – not only graduating at the top of his class, but being a mentor for the younger recruits.

These two men were undoubtedly exceptional, and not just in what they felt for this city and the calling to public service they felt – they were exceptional in what they felt for their family. Their devotion, we now know, was extraordinary, was exemplary.

Detective Ramos’ love for his two sons, Justin and Jaden, for his wife, Maritza – the lights of his life – his commitment to his whole extended family, we now know, could not have been deeper.  Detective Liu’s devotion to his beloved wife, Pei Xia Chen, and his parents, Wei Tang Liu and Xiu Yan Li – we know how much they meant to him, and how they were the center of his life.

We know that these two men had extraordinary integrity. They did all they could, and went even farther. Detective Ramos not only followed the call to serve the NYPD – at the last weeks of his life, he was studying to be a chaplain, looking for ways to serve even more. Detective Liu was well known to help anyone he came across in need, anyone in distress – whether it was buying meals for the hungry, or listening to seniors who just needed someone to talk to.

Both men lived very full lives – full of passion, full of heart. And we have to remember the joyous moments, too. We know how much Detective Liu loved fishing, and we know how much he loved to share what he caught with his family. We know how much Detective Ramos loved playing basketball with his sons, blasting Latin gospel music. We know how much he loved to talk about his beloved Mets.

These were men who lived such full lives. And as we learn more and more about them, our hearts ache even more, and our resolve to help their families deepens. And it became clear that they were an example to us, of all that’s good about those who protect us and serve us – and why we have to everyday redouble our efforts, to not only protect our communities, but to protect the guardians of our communities, who are the men and women of the NYPD.

We will continue, with everything we have as a city, to support the men and women of the NYPD; to invest in them; to provide them with the equipment, the technology, the additional personnel – all the things that will help to make them safe as they do such important work for us.

And even as we lost Detectives Ramos and Liu, they did something great for police officers all over the nation – because in their name, President Obama signed a bill, literally with their two names on it, establishing an alert system for police threats, to ensure the men and women who protect us will be safer going forward.

We’ll continue to do all the things we can. We’ll continue to work all over this nation to protect our men and women in uniform from the scourge of illegal guns.

And these families – these families will continue to inspire us by their very presence; by the way they have comported themselves; by their belief in giving back as well. And I want to thank Maritza for launching a foundation in Detective Ramos’ name, to help the families of other fallen NYPD officers, and to focus on bringing police and community closer together – something her husband epitomized.

As we dedicate these plaques in honor of Detective Ramos and Detective Liu, let’s rededicate ourselves. Let’s rededicate ourselves to being as good as they were – to being a city worthy of their memory.

May the legacies of these heroic officers be an ongoing call to all of us to be our best selves – to better serve our families, our neighbors, and our beloved City of New York.

Thank you, and God bless you.