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Family of late NYPD officers to throw Mets’ first pitch

By Alexandra Huber

May 26, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of Citi Field during the national anthem before the New York Mets take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
May 26, 2014; New York, NY, USA; A general view of Citi Field during the national anthem before the New York Mets take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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The family of slain NYPD officers will throw out the Mets’ first pitch

Family members of late NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu will throw out the first pitch at Citi Field on Mets Opening Day, according to ESPN’s Adam Rubin. Ramos and Liu were ambushed and fatally shot while sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn late last December.

The Mets’ first home game of the season is a Monday afternoon tilt against the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:10pm ET on Monday. The Mets, who currently sit at 2-1 on the season, will begin a road series in Atlanta against the Braves tonight.

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In addition to throwing out the first pitch, the families of the two officers were honored guests at the Mets’ spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida last month. The families joined the team on the field and dined with Mets Captain David Wright and other players.

The visit was organized by Wright, the son of a retired assistant police chief, who reached out to Ramos’ sons shortly after their father was killed. According to Wright, the phone call he made to Justin and Jason Ramos was one of the most difficult things he’s ever had to do.

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Ramon and Liu were on duty in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn when a gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, walked up to the passenger-side window and shot both officers at point-blank range. According to NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton, Brinsley shot several rounds of ammunition into the squad car. The officers were unable to draw their weapons.

Brinsley committed suicide in a nearby subway station shortly after, as responding NYPD officers approached. Brinsley’s posts on social media suggest that he planned to kill police officers in retaliation for the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases, two unarmed men who were killed by police officers.

But it’s not just the Mets. The Yankee Silver Shield Foundation, co-founded by late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, will pay for the education of Ramos’ two children.  The foundation provides education expenses for the children of New York City cops, firefighters and Port Authority employees who were killed in the line of duty.

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