'He Was So Young': Officer Jason Rivera's Funeral Held In Midtown

NEW YORK CITY — Hundreds of people made their way into St. Patrick's Cathedral and filled out the surrounding area outside the church to pay their respects Friday at the funeral for Jason Rivera, the 22-year-old rookie police officer who was gunned down in Harlem last week while responding to a domestic dispute.

The service began with a rendition of "Amazing Grace" as the priest went up and embraced Rivera's family sitting in the front pew.

Outside the church, police officers from Suffolk County, Sullivan County, Dutchess County, Madison, New Jersey, Fairfax, Virginia, and Los Angeles, California lined the street to pay respect to the fallen NYPD member.

Hundreds of NYPD members also gathered outside the cathedral.

“I felt this obligation as a citizen of the city, lived here my whole life, to pay tribute, [say] thank you, show respect," Lower East Side resident Isaac Krinsky told Patch as his voice began to break. “It’s very troubling to see what’s going on. Defund the police, I think it’s ridiculous. We should be supporting the police, they protect us.”

Krinsky, a retired subway conductor, is one of the hundreds more civilians who arrived at the Midtown cathedral on Friday morning to send their condolences. Many others who spoke to Patch on Friday voiced strong support for the NYPD, with most expressing skepticism toward recent reform efforts.

“I saw the news and it hurt me. He was so young," Brooklyn resident Naomi Toro told Patch outside the cathedral. “They should get rid of the illegal guns.”

Keith Morse, who served in the NYPD for 21 years before retiring to Virginia, traveled into the city Friday to attend the funeral.

"I’m just here trying to show support for a fallen brother. We’ve got to stick together," Morse told Patch. “I’m hoping that [Mayor Eric] Adams does a good job, I hope he makes good on some of his promises to back the police department and get tough on crime and get some plainclothes people back on the street to stop this gun violence."

A survivor of 9/11, Morse said that Rivera's death brings back memories of the several first responders he knew who died in the attacks.

In Photos: Final Salute for NYPD Officer Jason Rivera

Harlem City Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan, who represents the district where the shooting happened, was in attendance on Friday with other uptown residents.

Others in the crowd outside the cathedral included Sam Pirozzolo, 58, from Staten Island. The optician told Patch that he came because he saw the call by Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch, asking all New Yorkers to show up.

"I'm sad, I'm upset. This is just a tragedy," he said. "Twenty-two years old. Hopefully, this will be a turning point in the way we treat our police."

Also Read: 'Love You Tata': Run Club Races To Honor Lost Member, A Slain Inwood Cop

Katrina, a Brooklyn resident who did not provide her last name, was outside the cathedral holding a sign reading "Rest in Peace."

“You can’t say less policing without a plan," Katrina told Patch. "If they want social workers, get social workers. If they want police officers, get police officers. But you can’t have police officers be social workers, it doesn’t make sense.

"If a bad guy is in my house I want somebody coming, guns a-blazing.”

Shortly after the communion took place within the St. Patrick's Cathedral, Mayor Eric Adams took the stand to speak.

"Today we salute Police Officer Jason Rivera for the last time. His journey by our side has ended, he takes another path," Adams said. "Our hearts are with his beautiful family."

The new mayor and former police officer of 22 years then spoke directly to each member of Rivera's immediate family, from his wife Dominique Rivera to his parents to his older brother.

"Jason was the first person in his family to become a police officer," Adams said. "As I thought about him, I could not help but reflect on my life. Disappointed in our observations of wanting the police department to build bridges, we decided to go inside and help from within. He was committed to that desire. And he did it for the right reasons, he wanted to make a difference, he wanted to become a police officer."

Adams also brought his speech to the public perception of the NYPD.

“There were days when I thought the public did not understand the job we were doing, and I want to tell you, officers, they do, they do, never give up, not the people of this city, as they will never give up on you," Adams said. "I want to thank you for what you do every day. You stand in the gap of safety. These two fine young men watered the tree of safety.”

Adams' speech ended with a round of applause from the cathedral.

The mayor was followed by Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

A somber procession took place Thursday as the body of the Inwood native was transferred from an uptown funeral home to the Midtown church.

The procession was led by Rivera, his childhood friend that he had married just four months prior to being killed.

Mayor Eric Adams spoke at Rivera's wake on Thursday and Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered flags on state buildings would fly at half-staff until Feb. 2 to honor both officers.

"The losses of Officer Rivera and Officer Mora are felt widely and deeply by all New Yorkers," Hochul said. " My thoughts are with their families and loved ones."

The deadly shootout that claimed Rivera's life in Harlem last Friday also claimed the lives of fellow officer Wilbert Mora and Lashawn McNeil, the accused gunman.

After the shooting, Patch received a letter Rivera had written years earlier about why the young man from Inwood wanted to become a police officer.

"As time went on, I saw the NYPD pushing hard on changing the relationship between the police and the community," Rivera wrote. "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."

Rivera's grieving widow took to Instagram to send a goodbye message to her late husband, writing, "Fly high my beautiful angel."