For years, Rafael Ramos ushered people to their seats in his Queens church, be they parents steering bulky baby carriages, new congregants or elderly people who needed help navigating the aisles.
On Saturday, it was time for Ramos, one of two New York Police Department officers gunned down Dec. 20, to be guided through Christ Tabernacle Church, where thousands of people converged to attend his funeral. Roads were closed for blocks in every direction and security was stepped up to accommodate the huge crowds, which followed a wake and a viewing Friday.
Vice President Joe Biden attended, as did New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who also had briefly attended the wake but did not speak. De Blasio was due to deliver comments at the funeral, even though some police union leaders have accused him of creating a hostile climate that set the stage for the officers to be killed.
A sign of the rift was clear Saturday as De Blasio arrived for the funeral and walked past a large sign reading:
"God Bless the NYPD
Dump De Blasio."
De Blasio did not appear to notice the sign. He stopped briefly outside the church and spoke with Police Commissioner William J. Bratton before heading inside, past police who did not acknowledge him.
Otherwise, at least for a while, politics were set aside as men and women in uniform, family and friends of Ramos, and strangers gathered to honor the cop known as Ralph, who worshiped at Christ Tabernacle for 14 years.
The church set up huge screens outside so that the overflow crowd could follow the service. Mournful music filled the air and thousands of blue ribbons tied to area fences fluttered in the breeze as photographs of Ramos with his family, including his wife Maritza and sons Jaden and Justin, were displayed on the screens.
Justin, a college sophomore, wept as he spoke at his father's wake the previous night. "He was my rock. He was a beacon of wisdom. He was my absolute best friend. Dad, I'll miss you," he said. "What happened to my father was a tragedy, but his death will not be in vain."
"He had an infectious and disarming smile," Christ Tabernacle's executive pastor, Rev. Adam Durso, said of the 40-year-old officer. In a statement posted on the church's website, Durso said Ramos "was a humble man and was willing to help at any capacity."
"Nobody deserves to die the way he did, police officer or civilian," said Capt. Sergio Centa of the city's 84th Precinct, where Ramos was assigned. "Especially not a police officer."
Barry Hershfield, a retired schoolteacher, agreed. Like thousands of others, he waited hours to get into the church for Ramos' wake on Friday afternoon.
Hershfield said news of the attack that killed Ramos and his partner, Wenjian Liu, 32, "tore my heart apart."
"Anybody who puts their life on the line should be paid more than anyone else, and honored more than anyone else," he said.
A service for Liu, whose relatives must travel from China, has not yet been scheduled.
Ramos and Liu were killed when Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, opened fire on them as they sat in their patrol car. Police say Brinsley, who then killed himself, had a history of online anti-police rants.
In some of those rants, Brinsley mentioned the deaths of unarmed black men during encounters with police, including the death of Eric Garner. Garner, 43, died last July during a scuffle with officers on Staten Island, and a grand jury's decision this month not to indict a key officer in that case prompted protests across the city.
Brinsley's ambush derailed relations between the mayor and leaders of the city's police unions, who say De Blasio ushered in a hostile climate toward police by being too lenient with those protesters.
Hundreds of officers flew in to attend the funeral, from the East Coast to California.
"We're all one big family here," said William Riga, an officer from Chicago, speaking to NY1 television. "When an officer dies, we all feel it. It ripples across America."
Follow @tinasusman for national news
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times7:15 a.m.: This article has been updated to include new information about the funeral service.
6:40 a.m.: This article has been updated to include new information on the funeral service and the attendance by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
This article was originally published at 5:04 a.m.
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