Funeral For 1st Fallen NYPD Officer Set For Friday: What To Know

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The first NYPD officer to die from last week's shooting in a Harlem apartment will be laid to rest on Friday following a funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Officer Jason Rivera, a 22-year-old Inwood native, will be mourned starting at 9 a.m. Friday at the Midtown cathedral. The service will be livestreamed on multiple platforms.

All day Thursday, a wake for Rivera was held at St. Patrick's, with roughly 1,800 people stopping by each hour to pay respects, according to NBC reporter Myles Miller.

For Friday's funeral, Fifth Avenue will be closed to traffic between 43rd and 57th streets starting at 6 a.m., stretching further down to 34th steret by 9 a.m., the NYPD said. A large contingent of first responders from across the country is expected to attend. (Patch will also bring live coverage of the memorial.)

Rivera will be cremated in a private ceremony at a Westchester County cemetery following the funeral, according to the New York Post.

"On Thursday and Friday, we will tender a final salute to our fallen hero, Police Officer Jason Rivera," the Police Benevolent Association union wrote in a tweet. "We respectfully ask for your support."

A funeral for Rivera's partner Wilbert Mora, the 27-year-old officer who succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday, will be held next week at St. Patrick's.

Rivera, who was in his first year on the force, had written of joining the NYPD with the goal of improving the dynamic between police and the neighborhoods they serve.

"Growing up in Inwood Manhattan, the community's relationship between the police and the community was not great," Rivera wrote in a November 2020 letter to his commanding officer.

"As time went on, I saw the NYPD pushing hard on changing the relationship between the police and the community. This was when I realized that I wanted to be a part of the men in blue, better the relationship between the community and police."

Related coverage:

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• Inwood Run To Memorialize Late Police Officer Jason Rivera
• Funeral Set For Slain Inwood Officer, Hundreds Attend Procession