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NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden is one of the dignitaries who spoke at the funeral for New York police officer Rafael Ramos.
He said "When an assassin's bullet targeted two officers, it targeted this city and it touched the soul of an entire nation."
Thousands of police officers from across the nation packed a church in Queens and spilled onto the streets today to honor Ramos as a devoted family man, aspiring chaplain and hero though an air of unrest surrounding his ambush shooting was not completely pushed aside.
Although mourners inside the church applauded politely as Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke, hundreds of officers outside turned their backs on him in a show of disrespect for what they see as his support for anti-police protesters.
Police union officials have faulted de Blasio for showing sympathy to protesters angry over the police deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner on Staten Island.
Biden promised, however, that the "incredibly diverse city can and will show the nation how to bridge any divide."
Ramos and his partner, Officer Wenjian Liu, were gunned down as they sat in their cruiser on a Brooklyn street a week ago.
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