Slain NYPD Officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera honored with memorial at precinct
The officers were ambushed while responding to a domestic violence call in January
By Rocco Parascandola
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — NYPD Officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera are forever honored in the Harlem stationhouse where they worked.
The young cops’ names were added to the memorial wall inside the 32nd Precinct stationhouse on Friday.
Mora, 27 and Rivera, 22, were gunned down on Jan. 21, when they responded to call for help from a woman whose son was threatening to hurt her. The woman’s son, Lashawn McNeil, 47, came out of a back bedroom and ambushed the officers before another cop shot him, authorities said.
Rivera died that night, Mora succumbed to his injuries four days later. The gunman also died.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell assured the officers’ families that the NYPD “would never forget our fallen.”
Yesterday we gathered for a Memorial Wall Plaque Dedication Ceremony honoring Det. Jason Rivera & Det. Wilbert Mora. The new wall will serve as a permanent reminder of our solemn vow to #NeverForget their legacy & ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to everyone that made this possible. pic.twitter.com/fk9pWfYXbD
— NYPD 32nd Precinct (@NYPD32Pct) May 21, 2022
“Their dedication to the Harlem community and the men and women of the NYPD was unwavering,” she said. “They were committed to the same mission that all those who wear our uniform swear to uphold.”
Mora and Rivera were posthumously promoted to detective.
The officers’ families remain angry about bail reform and other legislation that they believe has created a climate that demonizes cops and goes easy on criminals.
Today we’re remembering Officer Mora and Officer Rivera of the NYPD’s 32nd precinct whose lives were cut short earlier this year.
— Desi Cuellar for Congress (NY-14) (@DesiJCuellar) May 20, 2022
It’s not enough to never forget anymore.
Things have gone too far for too long. pic.twitter.com/twQ5kvQEv8
“Neither the death of Wilbert, nor that of his partner, nor the pain of our families... much less my desperate calls, has made you do anything to change the condition that put them at such a disadvantage and vulnerable state in an NYPD uniform,” Mora’s sister Karina said in Spanish. “That’s why today I ask you again, ‘How many more Wilberts, how many more Jasons and how many more broken families do you need to take action?”
The murders of Officers Jason Rivera & Wilbert Mora leave us with broken hearts, flags at half-staff, and black bands on our shields. They were great officers doing an important job — work their fellow Finest continue in their honor. Pray for them. Support them. And #NeverForget. pic.twitter.com/HCCMFDhiIo
— Commissioner Sewell (@NYPDPC) January 26, 2022
Rivera’s widow, Dominque Luzuriaga, kept politics out of her speech and instead focused on what she has lost.
“Although I was never ready for him to leave,” she said, “I was always ready for him to stay in my heart.
“Don’t forget to tell your favorite people that you love them today.”
©2022 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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