Officers of the 84th Police Precinct and members of the precinct’s community council held a special ceremony at their station house at 301 Gold Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Two plaques that were mounted on the Precinct Memorial Wall in memory of fellow police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were gunned down on December 20, 2014, were unveiled by precinct Commanding Officer Sergio Centa.
Members of the families of the slain officers were in attendance. They included two of Ramos’ sons, his wife, Margarita and his sister, Cindy; Liu’s wife, Pei Xia Chen, and his mother Xiu and father Wei Tang Liu.
A surprise guest was Savannah Solis, the 10-year-old from Tyler, Texas that had sent over 200 handmade thank-you cards to NYPD officers when she heard about the tragic deaths of Ramos and Liu. She had flown up to New York with her parents courtesy of Jet Blue airlines.
Each plaque read, “In memory of Police Officer Rafael Ramos/Wenjian Liu in recognition of his supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, EOW (End of Work) December 20, 2014, from the members of the 84 Precinct.”
During his remarks, Captain Centa mentioned that a more formal ceremony with Mayor Bill de Blasio and the police commissioner will take place about a year from now.
Also present for the unveiling was the new Brooklyn North NYPD Commander Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, 84th Precinct Community Council President Leslie Lewis, Council Vice President Tony Ibelli, Transit District 30 Captain Maria Giacalone, and City Councilmember Steve Levin. The next day, Savannah met NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton at police headquarters in Manhattan.