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Brooklyn Precinct Hosts Community Day in Remembrance of Slain NYPD Officers

By Camille Bautista | September 10, 2015 3:21pm
 Bed-Stuy's 79th Precinct will help host the
Bed-Stuy's 79th Precinct will help host the "Det. Liu and Det. Ramos Community Day" on Saturday.
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DNAinfo/Camille Bautista

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — The Brooklyn NYPD precinct in which two officers were murdered last December will help host a neighborhood event Saturday in their memory.

The 79th Precinct and its community council is collaborating with local organizations to bring the “Det. Liu and Det. Ramos Community Day” to Bedford-Stuyvesant.

“This day is something we wanted to do to give back to the families,” said Dr. Kim Best, president of the precinct’s community council.

The event looks to celebrate the lives of the two slain officers and build relationships between area police and residents, Best added.

The festivities will take place just one block away from where officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot dead as they sat in their patrol car near the intersection of Myrtle and Tompkins avenues on Dec. 20.

The pair worked out of the 84th Precinct but were on patrol that day in the 79th.

Gunman Ismaaiyl Brinsley fatally shot himself soon after at a nearby subway station.

Family members of Liu and Ramos are scheduled to attend Saturday morning for a ceremony commemorating the officers, who were posthumously promoted to the rank of Detective.

The day will continue with a basketball tournament, softball, as well as free food, performances and games for kids and families, organizers said.

Bruce Green, vice president of sponsoring organization the Brooklyn Anti-Violence Coalition, said the concept is “turning tragedy to triumph.”

“The goal is to have this annual event where cops and community come together,” Green said.

“This day you’ll have police officers bringing their families out, on the same bouncy houses as our families. We all just want to enjoy life. We’re all just ordinary people.”

Fostering strong ties between residents and police is an ongoing project, Best said.

“With all the new businesses and people moving into the community, we definitely need projects such as this to continue building," he said.

"It helps us grow and helps people to familiarize themselves not only with our officers, but with all the resources in the area.”

The “Det. Liu and Det. Ramos Community Day” will take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Myrtle Avenue between Marcy and Nostrand avenues. For more information, contact the 79th Precinct’s Community Affairs office.