Fallen hero NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora’s body arrives at Manhattan funeral home, saluted by hundreds of cops
The body of slain NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora, a hero in life and death, was driven to a Manhattan funeral home Wednesday as hundreds of his colleagues gathered in silent tribute.
A squad of cops on motorcycles led the way uptown, with a line of Mora’s fellow NYPD officers standing and saluting their fallen comrade as his body arrived at the Riverdale Funeral Home in Inwood.
Family members climbed into a van at their East Harlem home to be there when his body arrived from the city medical examiner’s office at Bellevue Hospital, with the streets eerily quiet save for the sound of a helicopter above as the motorcade drove past.
The slain officer’s family wept and hugged one another as his flag-draped casket was brought out of an NYPD ambulance on a cold January afternoon. Mayor Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell joined the cops mourning the losses of Mora and fellow Officer Jason Rivera.
The two city officials spent about 10 minutes speaking with family members, with relatives of Rivera arriving later in the afternoon at the funeral home where his remains were also taken.
“The murders of Officers Jason Rivera & Wilbert Mora leave us with broken hearts, flags at half-staff, and black bands on our shields,” the new commissioner tweeted later. “They were great officers doing an important job — work their fellow Finest continue in their honor. Pray for them. Support them. And never forget.”
The 27-year-old Mora, a four-year NYPD veteran, will be honored next week in St. Patrick’s Cathedral at a Tuesday wake and a Wednesday funeral. Rivera, 22, was fatally shot along with Mora as they responded to a domestic dispute between a Harlem mother and her adult son — who gunned down both law enforcers before he was fatally shot by a third officer.
Rivera died later that night while Mora passed away Tuesday after doctors removed his kidneys, heart, pancreas and liver for lifesaving transplants, with five recipients identified and the organs delivered later in the day.
Three of the patients were New York State residents, officials said, and the Mora family made the decision to donate the organs, said Leonard Achan, president and CEO of LiveOnNY — the organization that oversees and facilitates organ donation in New York.
Friends of Mora left a heartfelt message to the slain officer on the wall at his building, expressing the deep loss they felt after his killing.
“You are an angel of God now and you will be always be loved and missed,” read the handwritten note. “We will hold a special place in our heart for you.”
The two officers were walking down a 30-foot hallway toward a bedroom where Lashawn McNeil took refuge after his mom dialed 911 for help last Friday. The son came out blasting with a Glock 45 handgun.
McNeil, 47, died three days later from gunshot wounds suffered after he ambushed the two officers and was shot by a rookie cop.
The married Rivera’s wake is set for Thursday at St. Patrick’s, with his funeral to follow there Friday.
