Maritza Ramos, whose husband Det. Rafael Ramos was fatally shot while on the job in Brooklyn in 2014, addressed graduates at the NYPD’s Police Academy in College Point on Tuesday.
Ramos pinned the shield on the breast of 25-year-old Probationary Police Officer Mohamad Ghafari during the ceremony.
Photo by Shane O’Brien
The widow of a murdered New York detective addressed hundreds of NYPD Academy graduates on Tuesday as part of Gun and Shield Day, which sees recruits receive their badge and firearm before officially graduating from the Academy.
Maritza Ramos, whose husband Det. Rafael Ramos was slain in an ambush shooting in Brooklyn in 2014 alongside colleague Det. Wenjian Liu, addressed graduates at the NYPD’s Police Academy in College Point on Tuesday afternoon.
Ms. Ramos also pinned the shield on the breast of 25-year-old Probationary Police Officer Mohamad Ghafari during Tuesday’s ceremony.
In an essay explaining why he had joined the police force, Ghafari wrote that he had been inspired by Det. Ramos—who worked as a school safety officer at Staten Island’s I.S. 72 prior to joining the NYPD—while Ghafari was an I.S. 72 middle schooler.
Ghafari said Ramos used to wait with him after school each day until his mother showed up to collect him, adding that the pair developed a strong bond and friendship.
He said Ramos expressed his ambition to become an NYPD officer and described him as the “most selfless person” he had ever met.
Ghafari wrote that he decided to join the NYPD after learning of Ramos’s murder in December 2014 to honor the legacy of his hero.
Ramos’s widow said Ghafari’s essay was “inspirational” and moved her to tears.
“The moment they showed it to me, I cried. I showed it to my boys, and they loved it. Just knowing that even though he’s not here, he touched someone’s life like that, it’s very touching,” Maritza Ramos said following Tuesday’s ceremony.
Ghafari, who met Ms. Ramos for…
Read the full article here
