Killed Officer’s Widow Lashes out at Manhattan DA

Killed Officer’s Widow Lashes out at Manhattan DA
Dominique Rivera (L), wife of NYPD Officer Jason Rivera, watches as his casket is loaded into a hearse outside St. Patrick's Cathedral after his funeral service in New York on Jan. 28, 2022. Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

Through tears, the wife, Dominique Luzuriaga, of slain police officer Jason Rivera, 22, recalled the horror of seeing cellphone alerts about two officers being shot in Harlem.

Her worries grew as she texted and called the former elementary school classmate she married this past October.

She got no answer until the call that summoned her to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Luzuriaga made the comments while speaking Friday morning at her husband’s funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

NYPD officers assemble at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC for the funeral of fallen PO Jason Rivera on Jan. 28, 2022. (Dave Paone/The Epoch Times)
NYPD officers assemble at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC for the funeral of fallen PO Jason Rivera on Jan. 28, 2022. Dave Paone/The Epoch Times

Authorities are still investigating what motivated the gunman, who was shot by a third officer and later died.

Luzuriaga lashed out at new Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat who has instructed prosecutors not to pursue certain cases, including some allegations of resisting arrest.

“The system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore. Not even the members of the service,” Luzuriaga said.

Dominique Luzuriaga (L), widow of slain NYPD Officer Jason Rivera, speaks at her husband's funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on Jan. 28, 2022. (Pool via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)
Dominique Luzuriaga (L), widow of slain NYPD Officer Jason Rivera, speaks at her husband's funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on Jan. 28, 2022. Pool via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

Bragg, who had no involvement with the officers’ killer, responded in a statement that he was grieving and praying for the slain officers and will “vigorously prosecute cases of violence against police.”

Rivera was barely into his second year on the force. He and Officer Wilbert Mora were fatally wounded a week ago when a gunman ambushed them in an apartment as they responded to a family dispute.

Police filled the pews at St. Patrick’s Cathedral Friday, and a sea of blue uniforms stretched for blocks as snow drifted outside the city’s iconic church.

A sea of blue uniforms stretched at least seven city blocks in New York during slain office Jason Rivera's funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral on Jan. 28, 2022. (Richard Moore/The Epoch Times)
A sea of blue uniforms stretched at least seven city blocks in New York during slain office Jason Rivera's funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral on Jan. 28, 2022. Richard Moore/The Epoch Times
New York Police officers gather along Fifth Avenue for the funeral of Officer Jason Rivera, outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York on Jan. 28, 2022. (Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo)
New York Police officers gather along Fifth Avenue for the funeral of Officer Jason Rivera, outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York on Jan. 28, 2022. Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo