Slain NYPD Cop’s Death Mixes with Anger as Officers Blame ‘Powers That Be’ for Emboldening Criminals

The funeral ceremony commemorating the line-of-duty death of New York police officer Jason Rivera drew thousands of uniformed officers from across the country to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan on Friday.

Just over a year out of the police academy, Rivera, 22, and his 27-year-old partner Wilbert Mora, whose funeral is next week, were gunned down in a Harlem apartment last weekend while responding to a domestic disturbance call. The killer, Lashawn McNeil, had a violent criminal record prior to the shooting, including a 2003 felony narcotics conviction and multiple prior arrests for unlawful possession of a weapon, assaulting a police officer, and a felony drug count.

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Caroline Downey

Caroline Downey is a staff writer for National Review.

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The funeral ceremony commemorating the line-of-duty death of New York police officer Jason Rivera drew thousands of uniformed officers from across the country to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan on Friday.

Just over a year out of the police academy, Rivera, 22, and his 27-year-old partner Wilbert Mora, whose funeral is next week, were gunned down in a Harlem apartment last weekend while responding to a domestic disturbance call. The killer, Lashawn McNeil, had a violent criminal record prior to the shooting, including a 2003 felony narcotics conviction and multiple prior arrests for unlawful possession of a weapon, assaulting a police officer, and a felony drug count.