NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora pays tribute to his fervor at his funeral

Officer Mora’s brother, Wilson Mora, remembers a happy boy – “Mom bathed us with love and you imbued that love like a sponge” – while his sister , Karina, who speaks in the family’s native Spanish, says he is “full of dreams”, a boy who “lights up the house with his smile”.

When he became a police officer, he quickly showed himself as a leader, said Inspector Amir Yakatally, his commanding officer in Area 32. “A new breed of officer,” he said before recalling the fatal shooting.

“On a bad day, Wilbert took the lead and made everything right,” he said. “He asked all the right questions,” and guided junior officer Rivera down the hallway. As the shooting began, “Wilbert used precious seconds while still within firing range to return fire,” Inspector Yakatally said, adding, “Know that he was out fighting.”

Mayor Adams commended Officer Sulan for his quick thinking. “He is a hero,” he said.

The shootings by officers Mora and Rivera ended more than a year of increased gun violence that emerged early in the pandemic in the city, raising public safety concerns from City Hall to the streets outside. . Just Tuesday, on the eve of a funeral, an officer on duty in Queens on his way to work was shot in the hand during an attempted theft of his car.

“Last night, we were reminded of the dangers of gun proliferation,” said Mayor Adams. “An off-duty officer was shot and injured on his way to work protecting New Yorkers.” He added, “The work that Officer Mora did when he was killed in the line of duty.”

Adams, a former police captain, said the city is facing a “New York against killers” battle, and it won’t lose that battle.

“We will win this war,” he said. “We’ll win it together.”

Three days after the officers were killed, Mr. Adams released a ambitious public safety plan that depends on bringing back a resilient plainclothes crime-fighting police unit to have guns on the streets. Mr. Adams also called for changes to the state’s bail law, but it was unclear whether state lawmakers would be willing to reconsider bail reform.