"We are all one community. No one is inseparable. I'm talking about humanity, people."
Rev. Henry Brown
Mayor Pedro Segarra and Hartford area religious leaders held a prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall to remember the two New York City police officers shot and killed last Saturday, and to call for an end to violence in Hartford.
The Reverend Henry Brown, co-founder of Mothers United Against Violence, urged Hartford citizens and police to come together to resolve their differences. "We need to do more for our police department, and they need to do more for us as well," he said. "After all, we are all one community. No one is inseparable. I'm talking about humanity, people."
Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra condemned the attacks, and said no son should be without his father, referring to the 13-year-old son of NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos, one of the officers killed last weekend.
"[Ramos's son] said, 'This is the worst day of my life. Today I had to say goodbye to my father, he was there for me every day of my life, he was the best father I could ask for.' This attack on police was an attack on all of us," Segarra said.
Segarra said first responders should not have to serve in fear of retaliation, and offered his prayers to the families of the slain police officers.