Solemn Sea of Blue as Officers Attend NYPD Cop's Wake
Officer Brian Moore, 25, was fatally shot in the head while on duty Saturday.
— -- Tens of thousands of police officers, from coast to coast and some from as far away as Canada, were expected to come out today in Bethpage, New York, to attend the wake for Officer Brian Moore, the five-year veteran of the New York City Police Department fatally shot this weekend while on duty.
Early in the day, a long, solemn line of blue already extended a quarter of a mile as officers paid tribute at Fredrick J. Chapey and Sons Funeral Home.
"It's a brotherhood and we're showing support for the officer but also for the family," said Lt. Bill McCauley, who traveled from Austin, Texas.
Moore and his partner, Eric Jansen, were patrolling in the Queens Village section of the city Saturday when the pair saw a man walking in the street adjust something in his waistband that appeared to be a gun, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said. The two plainclothes officers were traveling in an unmarked patrol car.
When the officers told the man to stop, he turned, allegedly pulled out a gun and began shooting into the car, police said. Moore, 25, of Massapequa, New York, was shot in the face around 6:15 p.m. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition and underwent surgery, police said.
He died Monday, becoming one of 40 police officers killed in the line of duty this year in the United States, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Sgt. Richard Sullivan of the MIT Police said today that he'd been to four funerals for police officers in the last two years.
"I haven't been home in two years," Ian Donley, a childhood friend of Moore's who is serving with the Navy and requested emergency leave to attend the wake, told the Associated Press today.
"I figured I'd just show my support," said Donley, who attended school with Moore and played sports with him.
The suspect in Moore's slaying, identified as Demetrius Blackwell, was arrested and faces several charges, including first-degree murder. Blackwell has a long arrest record, Bratton said.
Police said they recovered the gun used to shoot Moore -- a silver .38 revolver stolen on Oct. 3, 2011, during a robbery at a pawn shop in Perry, Georgia. It was one of 23 stolen that night, police said.
Moore's funeral is scheduled for Friday.