NEW YORK, NY -- Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) issued the following statement on the tragic deaths of Officer Rafael Ramos and Officer Wenjian Liu:

“This weekend, we witnessed a tragic and horrifying event: the cold blooded assassination of two police officers.   We mourn the loss of Officer Rafael Ramos and Officer Wenjian Liu, who were upstanding members of their communities and part of the cadre of NYPD men and women who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe.  We grieve for their families, for their colleagues in the NYPD, and for the entire City as we pay tribute to their service and their lives.

“The individual who perpetrated this crime traveled from Maryland with the express purpose of committing this horrible act.   This senseless violence sent another round of shock waves through our already grieving city.  Of course well before, and certainly since, the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, we have been struggling as a nation and as a city with how to move forward together; how to face the very real problems that often exist in police-community relations while supporting our officers in their efforts to keep our streets safe.  Mayor de Blasio has worked tirelessly alongside many in the City and in the NYPD to maintain peace and safety, continue critical discussions about reforming those policing tactics that jeopardize civil rights, civil liberties and individual security, and to support the NYPD and the officers who come to work every day and take risks to make our City safer. 

“Those who have cynically and erroneously blamed Saturday’s tragedy on the Mayor’s previous acknowledgements of the challenges in community-police relations, or on peaceful and respectful protestors, do nothing to help move the conversation forward and in fact, foment more discord and strife.  This must end.   No one – on any side—should use this tragedy to advance a political point of view.

“We should object to any rhetoric that equates criticism of police tactics or policies with disrespect for the men and women of the NYPD.  And we should object to rhetoric of those who minimize the significant sacrifices these dedicated public servants make every day for our City.

“We must all stand together and look to the future.  That future must include discussion of the reality of how communities in our city experience policing, and a discussion of police and grand jury reform. And it must also include a discussion about investing in and valuing our police so they and the neighborhoods they serve are as safe as possible.  We simply cannot prevent tragedies like the deaths of Officer Ramos, Officer Liu, Eric Garner and Michael Brown unless we are all focused, together.   For now, let us all take the appropriate time as a City to mourn, and then let’s re-start those discussions, calmly and in earnest, towards a better future for all New Yorkers.”

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