The family of one of those murdered New York City police officers is speaking out through faith and understanding. Richard Gonzales, the first cousin of slain NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos, 40, is offering a hand to accused cop killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley on behalf of their family. He says, “we forgive him, the Ramos family forgives him because God forgave us.” Gonzales and many of Officer Ramos’ family appeared on Sunday at a rally for the officers, Ramos and 32-year-old NYPD Officer Wenjian Liu–partners from the 84th precinct in Queens, who were killed execution-style while they sat in their patrol car the day before. At that rally, Ramos’ aunt Lucy also asked for a peaceful co-existence between police and community.
Hear Officer Ramos’ cousin Richard Gonzales speak about Brinsley and forgiveness for yourself by clicking the media player below:
Police say Brinsley began his murderous rampage earlier Saturday by shooting his ex-girlfriend near Baltimore and then traveling to New York after boasting about his plan to kill cops on the woman’s Instagram account. There, Brinsley posted a photo of a silver handgun with the words “I’m Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours…Let’s Take 2 of Theirs.” Brinsley’s ex-girlfriend is hospitalized and is recovering from her injuries. Brinsley shot and killed himself in a nearby Brooklyn subway station following the murders of Ramos and Liu.
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(Photo credit: nypdnews.com & Getty)
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