US-Fallen NYPD cop Jason Rivera given hero’s farewell at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Ns News Online Desk: Thousands of grieving police officers flooded the streets outside Manhattan’s historic St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday morning to give hero NYPD cop Jason Rivera a solemn final farewell.                 

As top New York officials joined Rivera’s family inside the church for the funeral, thousands of cops — hailing from the Big Apple and even foreign countries — huddled together outside to pay their respects.

Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell were all in attendance. Three former police commissioners — Dermot Shea, Ray Kelly and William Bratton — joined the dignitaries inside.

A staggering “sea of blue” stretched several blocks along 5th Avenue as flurries of snow fell — one week after the 22-year-old rookie was murdered with his partner in the line of duty.

As top New York officials joined Rivera’s family inside the church for the funeral, thousands of cops – hailing from the Big Apple and even foreign countries – huddled together outside to listen to the service via large speakers              Rivera, who was recently married and barely into his second year of service on the force, “gave his life defending his fellow New Yorkers,” Mayor Eric Adams said in his eulogy.

“The hearts of 8.8 million people are reaching out in mourning today,” Adams added. “We know he’s always with us and this city will become a better place because of his sacrifice.”

NYPD commissioner Keechant Sewell posthumously promoted Rivera to detective first grade, telling mourners: “He was everything the NYPD and the city needed him to be.”Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Chuck Schumer were among the other dignitaries present to pay their respects.

Also among the mourners was the widow and parents of Wenjian Liu — the NYPD cop executed alongside his partner in Brooklyn in 2014. Liu’s family were hugged by several officers before making their way into the church.

Rivera’s service was only open to invited guests, but everyday New Yorkers still gathered as snow fell outside the church to honor the slain officer.

Members of the public are invited to gather on several overpasses that overlook the Thruway in Yonkers from 11 a.m. as the officer’s body is escorted to the cemetery. Thousands of mourners paid their respects during a public wake on Thursday when Rivera’s casket, wrapped in an NYPD flag, was escorted into the cathedral.

Rivera’s widow, Dominique Rivera, penned a moving message after his wake, writing on Instagram: “This is probably the heaviest my heart has ever felt.

“Mi media naranja (my half-orange), like my mother in law used to call him, left me feeling so empty. I love you so much mi pollito in heaven. See you later. ”Rivera, who married his wife in October, was killed when deranged career criminal Lashawn McNeil ambushed him and his partner, Officer Wilbert Mora, during a domestic violence call in Harlem on Friday.

Mora, who died Tuesday from his injuries, is due to be mourned at a funeral at St. Patrick’s next week.

The suspect was shot by a third officer, rookie Sumit Sulan, during the attack on Rivera and Mora and died from his wounds earlier this week.