Thousands of mourners will gather Friday for a final salute to officer Brian Moore, who was shot last week while on duty in New York.
Moore, 25, will be eulogized at a funeral at St. James Roman Catholic Church in Long Island.
About 30,000 people are expected to attend, including police officers from New York City and across the country. Flags at city and state government buildings have flown at half-staff in his memory all week.
“In his very brief career — less than five years — he had already proved himself to be an exceptional young officer,” New York Police Commissioner William Bratton said.
Moore and a fellow officer were shot while trying to question a man in Queens on Saturday. He was struck in the head; the other officer was not injured.
Exceptional officer
Bratton said the fallen officer had a commitment to the job that made him stand out.
“In that career, he had made over 159 arrests protecting and serving the citizens of this city,” he said.
Moore had received two exceptional police service medals.
“We don’t give them out easily,” Bratton said. “He worked for them; he earned them.”
Serving as a New York police officer was Moore’s dream, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
“He did everything a good police officer was supposed to do,” he said.
Moore was the son, nephew and cousin of New York police officers.
The suspect
Moore and another officer, Erik Jansen, 30, were sitting in an unmarked police vehicle in Queens on Saturday when they saw a passerby adjusting something in his waistband, according to the NYPD.
Moore, who was driving, pulled up behind the man, later identified as Demetrius Blackwell. Blackwell allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband and opened fire on both officers, who were in the car and had no chance to fire back.
The suspect tried to flee into the backyards of the neighborhood homes, police said. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder, but those charges were upgraded after Moore’s death.
The gun he allegedly used was stolen in Perry, Georgia, in 2011, according to police.
