Slain NYPD Officer Receives Hero's Farewell at Wake, Funeral

The slain NYPD hero whose donated organs saved five lives was remembered Tuesday as a hero in life and death at a somber St. Patrick’s Cathedral wake just four days after his partner’s funeral in the same hallowed space.

The pews and the aisles of the landmark Midtown house of worship were filled once more in memory of slain Police Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, whose family opted last week to donate the mortally injured officer’s organs to the still-unidentified recipients rescued by the gift of his heart, liver, pancreas and both kidneys.

His flag-draped casket arrived at the cathedral around 1 p.m., following the same route taken through the front entrance at last week’s services for Officer Jason Rivera. Fellow officers stood with hands over their hearts or saluted as Mora’s body was taken inside for the viewing.

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As his family members sat quietly sat in the front of the church, the mourners poured sadly past the casket adorned with an NYPD badge and two gold crosses. Dozens of floral arrangements covered the altar, with one in the shape of a shield bearing Mora’s badge number and another in the shape and colors of the Dominican flag.

Two large poster boards held photos of Mora, with the officer sitting on a stoop, smiling with his friends and posing for a shot with his mom.

Fellow Officer Kris Barber, who came in full dress uniform to pay his respects with some colleagues from Portland, Ore., was impressed by the turnout for the slain young officer.

“It’s good to see that the public is actually recognizing them, and recognizing what they did, and what they’re willing to do for them,” said Barber.

The waves of blue-clad mourners arrived on another frosty Manhattan afternoon, 11 days after Mora was mortally wounded by a remorseless gunman who stepped over the officer’s dying partner to kill the four-year veteran. Rivera was remembered this past Friday at an emotional funeral presided over by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

“I came today because it’s a pain no mother should ever feel,” said mourner Liz Ostrow, standing near her own adult son. “And as a mother, it’s just heartbreaking, you know? Her son was sacrificed, really, for doing the right thing.”

PBA union head Patrick Lynch, who delivered one of the eulogies at last week’s funeral for Rivera, was back standing to the side of the altar, gazing stoically as the crowd filed past.

The mother of another police officer came down from Westchester County to mourn the murdered young man. Though she didn’t know the officer or his family, she felt the need to offer her prayers.

“We came out to support the NYPD, as we always do,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “We all know each other, we’re brothers and sisters for life. We’ll be here always, forever.”

Three of those given Mora’s organs were New Yorkers, according to LiveOnNY, which oversees and facilitates organ donation in New York.

The two slain officers were answering a domestic disturbance call at a Harlem apartment when their killer ambushed the pair, charging out of his bedroom and blasting away with an illegal handgun.

The gunman, killed by a third officer on the scene, was an ex-con with a rap sheet who was reportedly fighting with his mother over his vegan diet.

A prayer card with a photo of the bearded Mora offered a brief message of faith: “Your goodness and your favor accompany me while my life lasts, my mansion will be the home of the Lord for a long, long time.”

Elizabeth Snell, 67, a retired teacher from Queens, turned out Tuesday as she did last week for the 22-year-old Rivera.

“I’m a New Yorker,” she explained of her trips to the two wakes. “I’ve lived my whole life here. It’s terribly sad. I’m just a citizen. We have to support our police, that’s why I’m here.”

Snell mentioned that she didn’t feel safe on the streets lately, and wanted to take the subway back to Queens before night fell.

A Westchester County man, outside the church after waiting in the line to pay his respects, choked up suddenly and walked away after sharing his thoughts.

“I didn’t want to sit on the sidelines any longer,” he explained. “I was heartbroken over what happened, and I had to do something.”

Ostrow, after making the trip from Rockland County, expressed her sympathy for a family left to deal with so much after the Jan. 21 shootings.

“We were just standing there and saying, ‘They must be so exhausted,’” she said. “Because Friday is two weeks, and the grief and all this at the same time. It’s just heartbreaking.”

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