Hundreds pay respects at wake for slain New York police officer Liu   

纽约华裔警察公祭 民众和数千警察雨中排队悼念

Hundreds of mourners gathered in Brooklyn of New York Saturday to pay their respects to New York police officer Wenjian Liu, who was killed days ago together with a colleague by a revengeful shooter.

A wake for Liu was held in the afternoon at a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Chinese population, where Liu lived with his newly-wedded wife and parents.

A few hundred mourners, most of them police officers, stood in the rain in blue uniforms, lining up outside the funeral home and waiting to pay their respects.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton entered together the funeral home shortly after it opened. The wake was closed to the public.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo arrived later on Saturday and shook hands with police officers before entering the funeral home.

"This is a really tragic story," said Cuomo, noting that Liu and his wife were married only two months ago and had just moved into this residence.

He called for healing among New Yorkers, who he likened to a family.

"What makes New York strong is that we take our diversity and make it a strength and not a weakness," he said. "We have to stop any fights within the family."

Liu's funeral was scheduled for Sunday, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from across the country.

Liu, 32, and Rafael Ramos, 40, were shot to death on Dec. 20 as they sat in their petrol car in Brooklyn. The killer, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who killed himself soon after, had said he was seeking to avenge white police officers' killing of two unarmed black men this summer.

Liu is believed to be the first Chinese-American New York City police officer killed in the line of duty.

Last Sunday's funeral for Ramos was among the largest in NYPD history, with more than 20,000 officers from around the country filling streets around the church.