For the second time in less than a week, a sea of blue converged on Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Wednesday morning as police gave a solemn farewell to slain officer Wilbert Mora.
Thousands of New York’s Finest filled the cathedral and flooded 5th Avenue for the 10 a.m. service – two weeks after Mora and his partner, Jason Rivera, were murdered in the line of duty.
The 27-year-old, who is survived by his parents, three siblings and his girlfriend, will be remembered for choosing “a life of service,” his brother Wilson Mora told mourners.
“We had so many plans together. We were supposed to travel and go camping and go on road trips. I wanted to experience adventure with you because your love for life was infectious,” Wilson said.
“I just want you to know that I was always proud of you. You chose a life of service to your community in our adopted country. Your fellow officers were not only coworkers, they were friends and family. And now they’re my family. I love you baby bro and I will always miss you.”
Mayor Eric Adams praised Mora’s grieving family for “sharing your son with our city.”
“You must know we share your grief and feel your sorrow,” Adams said, addressing Mora’s parents.
“Officer Morrow was not only a dedicated public servant but an exceptional young man, beloved by his family, the youngest of four children,” Adams said. “We reflect on his bravery. Remember his sacrifice.”
Mora was hailed repeatedly by Adams and other eulogists for being an organ donor – and saving the lives of five others after his death.
“He was proud to wear the blue uniform and serve the city of New York. He saved lives, but he did something else that really reflects how special he was as an individual. After his transition from the physical to the spiritual, he donated his organs to five individuals who are now going to have life-saving abilities based on what he did,” Adams said.
Pat Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association, urged those who received Mora’s organs to live their lives in memory of the slain officer.
“We hope they… use that heart, use those organs, to do good in this world. Help us change the world like [Mora and Rivera] wanted us to do,” Lynch said.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell posthumously promoted Mora to detective, telling mourners he was “the perfect candidate to join the NYPD.”
“No one had to tell him to become a police officer. It was all he ever wanted to do,” she said. “Wilbert served this department bravely, honorably as a colossal symbol of promise, not for the size of his frame, but for the goodness in his heart.”
Sewell added that Mora and his partner Rivera “were gifts we never got to keep.”
Inspector Amir Yakatally, the 32nd precinct’s commanding officer, vowed that Mora’s “life, bravery and sacrifice will be the catalyst for change.”
“He was a son of our city. A new breed of officer… He was the American Dream,” he said.
“Although we are consumed with excruciating grief, members of the NYPD I ask you: do not give up hope on our profession. It will be betrayal and injustice to our fallen heroes.”
Mora’s colleagues from the 32nd Precinct stood to attention, 10 rows deep, as the fallen officer’s somber family arrived at the church shortly after 8.30 a.m.
He will be buried in Woodside, Queens after the funeral.
His service took place at the same historic church where his 22-year-old policing partner, Rivera, was honored and posthumously promoted to detective last Friday.
Mora, a four-year veteran of the force, and his rookie partner were both shot in the head when a deranged career criminal ambushed them as they responded to a domestic call in Harlem on Jan. 21.
Mora spent days clinging to life in the hospital after he was shot so he could survive long enough to donate his organs.
Reverend Joseph Franco, the pastor of Our Lady of Angels in the Bronx, told mourners during the service that even in death, Mora still offered to save lives by being an organ donor.
He said Mora learned from his father “that no one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”.
“That inspired Wilbert Mora who loved family, friends and the people of New York City to promise to protect us with his life. And when it seems like he could not give more, through a most generous donation, offered to save more, even in his death,” Pastor Franco said.
Commissioner Sewell called Mora “three times a hero” when she shared the news of his Jan. 25 death.
“For choosing a life of service. For sacrificing his life to protect others. For giving life even in death through organ donation,” Sewell said of the fallen officer.
Mora’s funeral was only open to invited guests, but every day New Yorkers and out-of-state cops still braved the cold to pay their respects.
“We’re all working the same job. We don’t know what’s going to happen day to day,” Connecticut cop Gregory Waldmiller told The Post. “Unfortunately Officer Mora paid the ultimate price.”
Officer Kyle Dolph, who traveled from Harrisonburg, Virginia with some of his colleagues, said it was important to show support for Mora and the NYPD.
“We realize that we are all one big family for this and, even though we are out of state — we are from Virginia — we wanted to make our way up here,” Dolph said.
“It’s sad day but it’s one of those days when we got to maintain some solidarity and show we support each other and show our respect.”
Stephen Saletros, of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, arrived with last Friday’s liftout from The Post that read “New York Stands with the NYPD.”
“Now more than ever they need our support. The nation needs to see the people supporting the rule of law and those who enforce it,” Saletros, 59, said. “Law enforcement has been under attack, especially from DAs that don’t prosecute criminals to the full extent of the law.”
Brooklyn funeral home worker Steve Vais was spotted clutching a sign that read: “To the police haters, take a good look around, because for every hater there are a million supporters. Always was, always will be. God bless the NYPD.”
Mora joined the NYPD in 2018 and was assigned to the 32nd Precinct where he made 33 arrests during his few years on the job.
As a Dominican immigrant growing up in East Harlem, Mora said he was interested in improving relations between officers and the neighborhoods they patrolled.
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