Dominique Luzuriaga, widow of fallen New York City Police officer Jason Rivera, drew a standing ovation while speaking at her husband’s funeral Friday after letting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have it for his soft-on-crime policies.
Luzuriaga struggled to maintain her composure as she spoke before the thousands of police officers, public officials, family and friends at Rivera’s memorial at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan.
She lamented that she and her husband had argued before he went to work on Jan. 21, when an assailant shot and killed Rivera, 22, and his partner Wilbert Mora, 27.
“You know it’s hard being a cop’s wife sometimes. It is hard being patient when plans were canceled or we would go days without seeing each other or when you had to write a report that would take forever because you had to voucher so many things,” Luzuriaga said.
Rivera and Luzuriaga were high school sweethearts, who married in October, the New York Post reported.
Officer Rivera's widow says they had an argument the morning he was killed and expresses regret she didn't have him drive her home when they could have worked things out. And that was the last time she had saw or talked to him. pic.twitter.com/rK8WlMehX6
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 28, 2022
After learning that two police officers had been shot in Harlem, “My heart dropped,” Luzuriaga recounted.
“I immediately texted you and asked you, ‘Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay. I know that you are mad right now but just text me you are okay. At least tell me you are busy.’ I get no response,” she said.
“We used to share locations on ‘Find My iPhone’ and when I checked yours I see you are at Harlem Hospital. I thought maybe you were sitting on a perp. But still, nothing. I called and then called again and then called one more time. And this time I felt something wasn’t right.”
Officer Rivera's widow, Dominique Luzuriaga: "Dozens of people were surrounding me & yet, I felt alone. I couldn't believe you left me. Seeing you in that hospital bed wrapped up in sheets & not hearing you when I was talking to you broke me…I was lost. I'm still lost." pic.twitter.com/mmiFEFpVLo
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 28, 2022
Then Luzuriaga received a phone call telling her to rush to the hospital.
When she arrived, seeing all the people staring at her “was the scariest moment I’ve experienced,” she said.
“Dozens of people were surrounding me and yet, I felt alone. I couldn’t believe you left me. Seeing you in that hospital bed wrapped up in sheets and not hearing you when I was talking to you broke me,” Luzuriaga recalled. “I was lost. I’m still lost.”
It’s still a nightmare that has left her angry and hurting, but she pledged her husband’s death would not be in vain.
“You have the whole nation on gridlock. And although you won’t be here anymore, I want you to live through me,” Luzuriaga said.
Fifth Ave filled with NYPD paying respects to fallen office Jason Rivera @nypost photograph by Paul Martinka pic.twitter.com/UZemgM2jVv
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) January 28, 2022
She then directed some of her anger toward Bragg.
“The system continues to fail us,” she said. “We are not safe anymore, not even the members of the service [NYPD]. I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA. I hope he is watching you speak through me right now,” she continued, which drew a standing ovation in St. Patrick’s.
"The system continues to fail us," Officer Rivera's widow says in powerful eulogy. "I know you were tired of the laws, especially the ones from the new DA. I hope he's watching you speak through me right now." pic.twitter.com/wH4RdlUxTv
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) January 28, 2022
“I’m sure all of our blue family is tired, too, but I promise, we promise, that your death won’t be in vain. I love you to the end of time. We’ll take the watch from here,” Luzuriaga concluded, once again prompting a standing ovation.
Funeral for #NYPD slain officer Jason Rivera in NYC @DHeskiel pic.twitter.com/kbu0d52Mvf
— NYCPHOTOG (@nycphotog) January 28, 2022
The New York Post reported the day before Rivera’s killing that Bragg stood by a memo he issued earlier this month after he was sworn in as Manhattan’s new district attorney.
The new DA directed his prosecutors to stop seeking prison time for a slew of crimes and to downgrade felony charges to misdemeanors in cases including armed robberies and drug dealing.
Friday may have been a turning point in the debate about the progressives’ soft-on-crime approach being implemented in big cities nationwide.
It only begets more and worse criminal conduct and leaves in its wake grieving Americans like Dominique Luzuriaga.
The purpose of the law is not to shield wrongdoers from the consequences of their conduct, but to establish a peaceful and safe society.
Via The Western Journal.