Vigil thanks 50th Precinct after police deaths

About 100 people came to the 50th Precinct at noon today to show their support for the police following the Saturday killings of two officers in Brooklyn.

Local religious leaders and elected officials led attendees— some of them holding posters with photos of slain Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos — in prayers and in thanking police at the 3450 Kingsbridge Ave. precinct.

“[Let’s] from here offer the prayer that the families know so many are grieving with them,” Hebrew Institute of Riverdale’s (HIR) Rabbi Avi Weiss said before turning to about a dozen police officers and firefighters at the back of the crowd. “Whenever you go out to protect us, may God be with you as you go out. May God be with you as you come back to your homes.”

Rabbis from Congregation Tehillah, the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale and the Riverdale Jewish Center (RJC) all emphasized that the community supports the NYPD after weeks of protests throughout the city and country. Demonstrators lambasted police for the deaths of Eric Garner on Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, incidents that Saturday’s killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley cited on his way to slaying Officers Liu and Ramos.

During his speech, RJC’s Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt recalled the tense period after his institution and Riverdale Temple were targeted in the Newburg plot of 2009.

“At a time when we felt very vulnerable, all the great national agencies were there, but more than any of them, our own wonderful precinct was there day and night to make us feel safe,” he said. “That kind of safety is something the news has told us lately not to take for granted.”

Between the speeches, two middle school students from Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy recited biographies of Officers Liu and Ramos and religious leaders led the group in singing psalms. HIR’s Rabbi Ari Hart held up a menorah while saying Hanukkah’s message of hope applies to unifying the city after the officers’ deaths.

Rep. José Serrano, state Sen. Jeff Klein and Assembly Jeffrey Dinowitz also spoke.