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Brooklyn mourns deaths of two NYPD officers

By Jonathan Allen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mayor Bill de Blasio's attempts to soothe a city dismayed by the slaying of two officers were further rebuffed on Tuesday as protesters defied his call to suspend what have become regular demonstrations over excessive police force.

De Blasio led a moment of silence at City Hall in the afternoon three days after the attack on the officers before asking his staff to hug those nearby "as a symbol of our belief that we will move forward together."

Hours later, about 200 protesters began marching through the drizzle and traffic in the center of Manhattan, enraged by the mayor's demand that they suspend their rallies until after the funerals of police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will travel to New York City to attend the funeral service for Ramos on Saturday, a White House spokesman said.

The shooting of the officers in their patrol car shocked a city that has seen largely peaceful demonstrations after decisions by grand juries in New York and Missouri not to indict white police officers in the killings of unarmed black men.

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New York Police Department officer Jason Muller salutes during the national anthem after participati …

The killings have also intensified friction between City Hall, the police department and reformers who voted for de Blasio, a liberal Democrat, last year.

Protests against the use of excessive force by police have been held across the United States, reigniting a bitter debate about how American police forces treat non-white citizens that has drawn in President Barack Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder.

Since Saturday, de Blasio's attempts at unity in New York have been rebuffed by both sides, police unions and protesters.

After saying de Blasio, who has reservedly sympathized with the protesters, had "blood on his hands" for the officers' death, police unions disputed on Tuesday the claims by City Hall that they had agreed to a request to suspend their rhetoric.

"I never had a conversation about silence," Ed Mullins, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said in a telephone interview.

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An NYPD logo is pictured on wall above makeshift memorial at the site where two police officers were …

Answer Coalition, organizers of the march on 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan, called the mayor's demand to suspend protests an attempt to "chill" their speech.

"We're showing that we are not going to allow other people control the narrative," Eugene Puryear, a protest organizer, shouted through a megaphone. Protesters marched behind a large banner saying "Stop Racist Police Terror" as they passed by Christmas shoppers and the luxurious shop window displays.

Saturday's attack has left police forces around the United States on edge. Police in Chicopee, Massachusetts, on Tuesday said they would seek to bring criminal charges against a man for posting the words "put wings on pigs" on his Facebook page, a phrase similar to the one used by the man who shot the officers in New York City.

The gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who was black, in a social media posting linked his plans to the July chokehold death of Eric Garner, 43, in New York's Staten Island borough and the August shooting of Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Brinsley, who was described by de Blasio as "emotionally troubled" and a "career criminal", shot and killed himself after slaying the officers.

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Public defenders, members of the legal community march in the Brooklyn borough of New York Wednesday …

De Blasio, who campaigned on a promise to repair relations between police and minority communities, has been criticized by the city's largest police union, The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, for being insufficiently supportive of police.

The mayor angrily rebutted those claims on Monday, saying there was no conflict between opposing police violence and supporting police officers.

Emerald Garner, a daughter of Eric Garner, left a wreath at an impromptu road-side memorial swelling with flowers and candles that marks the spot where Ramos and Liu were killed.

"My dad wasn't a violent man, so to use his name to do something that's violent is definitely not something that my father would want," she told reporters.

In Milwaukee, several dozen protesters on Tuesday evening briefly clogged an entrance into a sports arena hosting a National Basketball Association game, demanding justice for a black man who was fatally shot by a white police officer in a downtown park on April 30. There were no arrests during the protest.

The protest came a day after Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm announced that he would not press charges against the former officer Christopher Manney because he acted in self-defense when he shot Dontre Hamilton 14 times.

(Additional reporting by Sebastien Malo, Julia Edwards in Washington, D.C., and Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Writing and editing by Scott Malone, Toni Reinhold, Grant McCool, and Eric M. Johnson)

Joe Biden To Attend Funeral For NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos

HONOLULU (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden plans to be among the mourners at the funeral for a New York City policeman gunned down last weekend.

The White House says President Barack Obama has asked Biden to attend Saturday's service for Rafael Ramos (rah-fy-EHL' RAH'-mohs) at Christ Tabernacle Church in Glendale, New York. Biden's wife will also attend.

Ramos and his partner, Wenjian Liu (WEHN'-jihn LOO'), were ambushed Saturday. The gunman claimed he was retaliating for the police-involved deaths of Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. He later shot himself.

New York's police commissioner says Liu's family plans to make arrangements after arriving from China.

Obama is on vacation in Hawaii.

Biden to attend slain NYPD officer's funeral

The vice president plans to be among the mourners at a service for one of two officers gunned down last weekend.
Obama in Hawaii

HOUSTON (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush was admitted to a Houston hospital Tuesday evening after experiencing a shortness of breath, a family spokesman said.

Bush, 90, was taken by ambulance to Houston Methodist Hospital as a "precaution," according to spokesman Jim McGrath. He "will be held for observation, again as a precaution," McGrath said in a statement.

Bush spent nearly two months in the same hospital and was discharged in January 2013 after treatment for a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.

The White House said President Barack Obama, who is vacationing in Hawaii, has been notified about Bush's hospital admission.

"President Obama and the first lady send their good wishes to the former president and the entire Bush family during this holiday season," said White House spokesman Eric Schultz.

Bush, who can no longer use his legs, made two public appearances last month. He attended at an event at Texas A&M University with his son, former President George W. Bush.

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Houston Texans' J.J. Watt (99) visits with former president George H. W. Bush prior to an NFL fo …

The elder Bush also served as the coin toss captain for the Houston Texans during a Nov. 23 game that honored the U.S. Armed Forces.

Bush, the 41st president, had served two terms as Ronald Reagan's vice president when he was elected in 1988. Four years later, after a term highlighted by the success of the 1991 Gulf War in Kuwait, he lost to Democrat Bill Clinton amid voters' concerns about the economy.

He was a naval aviator in World War II — at one point the youngest in the Navy — and was shot down over the Pacific.

The elder Bush has skydived on at least three of his birthdays since leaving the White House. In June, he celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump near his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. During the winter, Bush and his wife, Barbara, live in Houston.

Bush, also a former U.S. ambassador to China and CIA director, suffers from a form of Parkinson's disease that has forced him in recent years to use a motorized scooter or wheelchair for mobility.

New York police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were ambushed Saturday by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, the final act in a rampage that began when he shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend at her home outside Baltimore, then made threatening posts online, including a vow to put "wings on pigs" and references to high-profile cases of white police officers killing unarmed black men. After shooting the officers, Brinsley ran into a subway station and committed suicide.

The killings have raised concerns and tempers in the already tense nationwide debate surrounding police conduct. Some key developments after the weekend shooting in New York:

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AMID CALLS FOR RESTRAINT, PROTESTS GO ON

Despite calls from New York's governor, the city's mayor and others calling for restraint, hundreds of protesters marched through midtown Manhattan on Tuesday night, with some holding signs saying "Jail Killer Cops."

The protesters were mostly peaceful as they wound through the city's bustling shopping district.

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New York City first lady Chirlane McCray and her husband, Mayor Bill de Blasio, lay a bouquet, Tuesd …

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday called for a pause in protests over police conduct. He faces a widening rift with those in a grieving police force who accuse him of creating a climate of mistrust that contributed to the killings of the officers.

Police Commissioner William Bratton, speaking Tuesday in Rhode Island, said it was "unfortunate" that some protests continued despite the mayor's plea.

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TRIBUTES, MEMORIAL VISITS

Landmarks including the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree dimmed their lights from 9 p.m. to 9:05 p.m. Tuesday to honor the slain officers.

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CORRECTS BYLINE Emerald Garner, daughter of Eric Garner, center, stands with National Action Network …

A makeshift memorial has sprung up at the sight of the shooting, crammed with flowers, cards and candles. A daughter of Eric Garner, killed in a police chokehold, placed a candle at the site Monday and said she was touched by the message Ramos' young son posted online.

"It hit my heart," Emerald Snipes said.

The mayor and his wife quietly visited the site of the shooting on Tuesday morning, spending several minutes there.

De Blasio folded his hands before him and stood with his head bowed. His wife placed flowers among dozens of tributes.

Later, de Blasio observed a moment of silence at 2:47 p.m., the time the officers were shot.

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CORRECTS BYLINE Emerald Garner, daughter of Eric Garner, center left, visits a makeshift memorial, M …

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ABOUT THE VICTIMS

Ramos, who celebrated his 40th birthday this month, joined the New York Police Department in 2012 after working as a school security officer. He was a lifelong Brooklyn resident.

He was married with two sons: a 13-year-old who attends middle school in Brooklyn and another is a sophomore at Bowdoin College in Maine.

The 32-year-old Liu, whose family moved from China when he was a teenager, had been a member of the police force for seven years, after serving in the police auxiliary. He moved this year to a home in Brooklyn's Gravesend section and got married two months ago.

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From left, New York City first lady Chirlane McCray, Pastor Michael Durso, and New York City Mayor B …

His wife, Pei Xia Chen, gave a tearful statement to reporters Monday evening.

"This is a difficult time for both of our families," she said, expressing her condolences to Ramos' widow and children. "But we will stand together and get through this together."

Brinsley's hospitalized ex-girlfriend, Shaneka Thompson, was upgraded from critical to serious condition.

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FUNERALS AND HELP FOR FAMILIES

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CORRECTS BYLINE A mourner delivers balloons to a makeshift memorial, Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, near the …

A wake for Ramos will be held Friday at Christ Tabernacle Church in Glendale, Bratton said. Ramos' family says he was deeply religious and heavily involved in the church. The funeral will be held there Saturday.

Vice President Joe Biden said he plans to attend Ramos' funeral.

Liu's family is traveling to the U.S. from China and will decide on arrangements after it arrives, Bratton said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder directed the Department of Justice to expedite death benefits to the officers' families. The Silver Shield Foundation, a charity founded by the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, set aside $40,000 for the education of Ramos' two sons. Bowdoin College said it will cover Ramos' older son's education costs as long as he remains a student there.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a charity created after 9/11/, says it will pay off the home mortgages of the two slain officers.

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ABOUT THE GUNMAN

Emerging details on Brinsley are clarifying a portrait of him as a mentally disturbed loner.

His mother told the Daily News he'd had psychological problems all his life but his family never had any indication he would attack police. Shakuwra Dabre said her 28-year-old son had made suicide attempts starting when he was 13, had been institutionalized and had been on and off antidepressants for years. She says he rebuffed his family's pleas to get help and she last spoke to him in July. She told the newspaper she was "deeply sorry" for what he had done.