Funeral. :: Ultimate MMORPG Gaming Community & Trading Zone

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Posted: 09/15/04 - 17:44 Post subject: Funeral.

Just came back from this. Thousands of police from all over the country, 10 deep, lined the street in front of the church for close to a mile. I didn't know Rafferty, but had met Parker a few times over the years, he was a good guy.

/salute

God speed.

Det. Robert Parker.

Det. Patrick Rafferty

Funeral shots. I'm in the second and third of the 6 pictures, btw.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_091504_cop_slides/WABC_091504_cop6.html

Quote:

15,000 cops unite in grief at funeral for slain detective

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

EAST ISLIP — A New York City police detective killed last week with his partner while responding to a domestic dispute was remembered Wednesday as a mentor to other officers at their Brooklyn precinct.
Suffolk County police estimated that 15,000 officers from New York and other states had gathered at St. Mary’s Catholic Church for the funeral of Detective Patrick Rafferty, 39, of Bay Shore. Rafferty and Detective Robert Parker, 43, were shot last Friday when the suspect allegedly grabbed Parker’s gun in East Flatbush.

“I learned a great deal with them,” said 67th Precinct Detective Nelson Figueroa, choking with emotion. “They made my time in the 6-7 that much easier. It was a pleasure working with them, knowing them, on the job and off.” Parker’s funeral is scheduled for Friday.

Rafferty’s funeral was attended by Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Fire Department Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.

A long motorcade was led by hundreds of police motorcycles from all over the metropolitan area. The muffled sounds of the Fire Department’s Emerald Society Pipe and Drums could be heard in the distance.

The route, from the funeral home to the church, was the same one used by the East Islip St. Patrick’s Day Parade. At the end of the funeral, a flyover of seven police helicopters from various departments followed the playing of taps.

“It’s going to be hard going on with our work and doing what we have been doing without them,” added Figueroa, who worked with both detectives for about four years.

“Any question I had, the two people I would go to were Bobby Parker and Pat Rafferty,” said Detective Eric Torres. “They were my mentors and I hope for the rest of my career I could follow their steps.”

The suspect, Marlon Legere, 28, who was shot in both feet during the scuffle with the two detectives, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges Monday, and was ordered held without bail.

The detectives were posthumously promoted Tuesday to first-grade detective, the New York Police Department’s highest detective rank. The promotion will increase the benefits their families will receive by thousands of dollars a year.

“The promotions are in recognition of their service to the citizens of New York City and their selfless dedication to duty,” Kelly said on Tuesday.

At the time of the shooting, Legere was wanted for questioning about a relatively minor May incident in which his mother said he broke a window in her house.

Police and prosecutors said Parker and Rafferty were trying to stop Legere from stealing his mother’s car Friday night when he allegedly wrested away Parker’s gun and opened fire.

The two detectives were the first to be killed in the line of duty since March 2003, when two undercover detectives from the police department’s organized crime control bureau were shot on Staten Island during a sting operation against gun dealers.

Another officer died on duty of a heart attack in January while running to the scene of an arrest.

Rafferty is survived by his wife, Eileen, and three children, Karen 12, Kevin, 9, and Emma, 5; his mother Joan Rafferty and five siblings — four brothers and a sister.

Funeral.

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