Fallen NYPD hero cop Jason Rivera’s widow calls out Manhattan DA Bragg over ‘soft on crime’ policies
The mourning widow of slain NYPD cop Jason Rivera called out Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Friday over what critics have cast as his lax approach to prosecuting crime.
Dominique Luzuriaga shared touching memories of her hero husband, in a heart-wrenching eulogy describing the devastating moment she found out he had been killed.
The she took aim at Bragg.
“The system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore, not even the members of the service,” Luzuriaga told a crowd of thousands gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown for Rivera’s funeral service. “I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA.”
“I hope he’s watching you speak through me right now,” she continued, clearly speaking to Bragg as he sat in a pew just a few yards away.
The crowded Cathedral, steeped in respectful silence a moment earlier, echoed with applause as Luzuriaga wiped tears from her eyes.
“I’m sure all of our blue family is tired too,” she concluded. “But I promise, we promise, that your death won’t be in vain.
Rivera was shot and killed while responding to a domestic incident last Friday in Harlem.
During his funeral service, the 22-year-old rookie was posthumously promoted to detective first grade during his funeral service. A second officer, Wilbert Mora, 27, died earlier this week.
Bragg has faced intensifying criticism after issuing a “Day 1″ policy memo outlining prosecutorial policies, such as charging robbery in a commercial setting as petty larceny in certain circumstances and not seeking pretrial detention except for the most violent cases.
His policies have been met with condemnation from NYPD brass and police unions as well as Republican politicians who have called on Gov. Hochul to remove the newly elected prosecutor from office.
In a statement released following Rivera’s funeral, Bragg said he is “grieving and praying for Detective Rivera and Officer Mora today and every day, and my thoughts are with their families and the NYPD.”
“Violence against police officers will never be tolerated,” he added. “My office will vigorously prosecute cases of violence against police and work to prevent senseless acts like this from ever happening again.”
Bragg, who took office on Jan. 1, was scheduled to sit down with Hochul Friday afternoon to discuss his approach to prosecuting amid the city’s recent spate of violent crime.
During an afternoon storm briefing on Long Island, the governor said she was brought to tears earlier as Luzuriaga recounted her lifetime of love with Rivera, whom she met in elementary school.
“Her pain was real, it was searing to hear, and it’s going to be enduring for a long time,” Hochul said.
The governor added that she would speak to Bragg about balancing public safety with progressive policies.
“We need alignment with our men and women in uniform … and yes, we have to protect people’s rights and ensure there’s fairness and justice in the criminal justice system ... and we need to address them, but these are not mutually exclusive objectives,” she said.
Following their sit down, Hochul said the two had a “productive conversation.”
In a separate statement, Bragg said topics covered during the meeting included “the importance of accountability, preventing shoplifting by breaking up burglary rings, keeping the trains safe, deterring brazen conduct and reducing gun violence.”
Earlier this month, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell criticized Bragg’s policies in a message to cops.
She wrote that she feared specific Bragg policies “will invite violence against police officers and will have deleterious effects on our relationship with the communities we protect.”
Bragg has vowed to “stay the course” despite the criticism.
