Justice Department official condemns killings of officers as 'heinous'

A woman recites from a Bible while standing over a makeshift memorial during a prayer vigil at the site where two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were fatally shot in Brooklyn, New York December 21, 2014. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deputy Attorney General James Cole said on Monday the fatal shootings of two New York police officers on Saturday were "heinous and cowardly acts." The officers were attacked by a man apparently motivated by the deaths of two black men at the hands of white police officers in New York City and Ferguson, Missouri. "Our sympathies, our prayers are going out to those families," Cole said of the officers. "There's no reason we should have to be dealing with this." (Writing by Bill Trott; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)