New York to Hold Funeral for Officer Rafael Ramos
His childhood friends called him Pote, which loosely translates to “can of goodness” in New York’s Puerto Rican street slang.
Thousands of police officers from across the country and from Canada and residents from every corner of New York City arrived early Saturday to attend the funeral of “the can of goodness,” Rafael “Ralph” Ramos, the police officer and 40-year-old father of two who was shot dead with his partner as they sat in their squad car on a meal break in Brooklyn last week. Police in their blue uniforms arrived by bus, car, train and plane from a distance and from the precinct around the corner. By 7 a.m. Saturday, the line of mourners stretched more than six blocks.
With threats to police continuing online, security was high with police on rooftops watching the crowd through binoculars. Canine units moved through the mourners and helped to check cars parked along adjacent streets. Emergency Services Units officers patrolled with assault rifles.