(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) The wife of fallen NYPD officer Jason “Tata” Rivera destroyed soft-on-crime Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, receiving a standing ovation during a poignant eulogy Friday at the historic St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
“The system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore,” said Dominique Luzuriaga, who married the 22-year-old Rivera in October after having been childhood sweethearts.
Rivera—a rookie who was posthumously promoted by Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell during the service—was assassinated last Friday along with his 27-year-old partner, Wilbert Mora, in a Harlem ambush while responding to a domestic call.
Luzuriaga discussed the challenges she faced as a police wife, describing a spat the two had before his final watch as the biggest mistake of her life.
She painstakingly recalled taking an Uber despite Rivera’s offer to drive her home, presciently telling her it could be the last time.
But after opening a window into the couple’s most private, intimate moments, she took a broader, macroscopic look at his legacy, noting that he had the entire nation in “gridlock.”
She spoke directly to her “blue family” in the audience while vowing to effect change through Rivera’s loss.
“I know you were tired of these laws, especially these ones from the new DA,” Luzuriaga said.
“I hope he’s watching you speak through me right now,” she continued to an eruption of applause. “I’m sure all of our blue family is tired too, but I promise—we promise—that your death won’t be in vain.”
The murders of Rivera and Mora were among several police ambushes and killings that have occurred in short succession, contributing to the growing backlash against Democrats’ anti-police rhetoric.
At least 13 officers have been shot in eight states in January, including attacks in blue-run St. Louis, Milwaukee and Houston.
During a vigil for the officers earlier in the week, six squad cars had their tires slashed, underscoring the cultural decline that has been exacerbated by the Biden administration’s disdain for law and order.
Mora’s funeral will take place next Wednesday at St. Patrick’s.
