Anyone who physically attended or watched the footage of the sixth anniversary commemorating fallen NYPD police Detective Miosotis Familia couldn’t possibly miss the portion of her 46th Precinct station house and a mural of her painted upon its brickwork.
Symbolically, it is as if she is protecting the building and watching over all its hard-working cops trying to serve its citizens and endure a glaring anti-police climate, as she customarily did during each tour of duty until she was ambushed and assassinated while seated in a fully marked NYPD command post vehicle.
(Photo courtesy of the NYC Police Benevolent Association.)
Similarly, the nation’s largest municipal police force members are reciprocating by watching over Detective Familia’s three children who, as they have in all the past commemorations for their mom, were flanked and embraced by throngs of NYPD cops in patrol uniforms and detectives in suits, congregated in front of “the 46” to honor the fallen cop on her sixth end of watch (EOW) date since 07-05-17.
(Photo courtesy of the NYC Police Benevolent Association.)
Detective Familia’s oldest child, Genesis Villela, took to the podium and spoke to a crowd gathered in honor of her slain mother, offering endearing words and heartfelt prose…
“My Mom was a great cop. I don’t need to be one to know that.”
“Detective Miosotis Familia was assassinated six years ago due to her courageous choice to wear a blue uniform and protect New Yorkers. Today, DEA Board Officers stood with Detectives and fellow Finest to continue our solemn vow to forever be here for her loved ones — and never forget our fallen hero,” an NYPD Detectives Endowment Association spokesperson said.
Then a 12-year police veteran who was posthumously promoted to detective, Familia’s life ended when an armed, stone-hearted killer walked up to her as she sat in a fully marked NYPD vehicle, point-blank opening fire. The shooter, armed with a stolen pistol, was soon after confronted by Det. Familia’s colleagues and killed in an exchange of gunfire.
“Fort Apache, The Bronx” is a 1981 flick starring Paul Newman as an NYPD cop assigned to the 46th Precinct. I remember the scenes were pretty gory, exhibiting a severely downtrodden environment in which to serve and protect. IMDB.com depicts the movie as “South Bronx’s main police precinct” that is “nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a Wild West isolated outpost.”
A Wiki plot summary described it this way: In the NYPD’s 46th Precinct, “Police officers face many challenges in the decaying, impoverished, high-crime South Bronx region of New York City,” with the cops assigned there responsible for patrolling streets “full of dangerous criminals such as violent gangs and drug dealers.”
Fast-forward: Detective Familia’s assassination attests to these conditions.
While Hollywood-made footage portrays corrosive crime conditions in the “Fort Apache…” flick, real-life NYPD police executives graciously hallmarked the proposal to have a muralist paint a bust-size image of Detective Familia in NYPD dress blues.
I became curious about the mural of Familia and located some footage from its unveiling a few years ago:
Although I have seen several small, canvas paintings depicting fallen cops —some commissioned and others done charitably— murals of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty are uncommon. Sleuthing found a few though…
Davis, California police Officer Natalie B. Corona perished in the line of duty on January 10, 2019. Per the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP), while “Officer Corona was conducting an investigation at the [auto] collision scene, a person not involved with the crash rode up to the scene on a bicycle. As Officer Corona spoke to one of the persons involved in the crash, the man then walked up to her and opened fire without warning, striking her. He shot her several more times after she fell to the ground before shooting randomly at other bystanders and vehicles.”
Her loved ones explained how Officer Corona always beamed a radiant smile and that she loved sunflowers.
A friend of the Corona family thought it a great idea to honor her abruptly abbreviated presence on earth with a permanent mural for the public to observe, consulting with a muralist to complete the job.
Although he didn’t personally know Officer Corona, the artisan who supports law enforcement pledged to paint the fallen cop across a broad wall at a city intersection, memorializing one of Davis’s Finest whose bright smile is golden, like the sunflowers she adored:
How poignant!
On June 4, 2021, Worcester Police Officer Enmanuel “Manny” Familia “drowned while attempting to rescue a juvenile who had gone underwater in a small pond in Green Hill Park at about 1:35 p.m.,” according to the ODMP. “Officer Familia was recovered from the water approximately one hour later and transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.”
On a brick wall viewable by the public, a local mural artist endeavored to paint a tribute to Officer Familia. Via a local news station clip, the mural was reportedly completed in under two days, “in time for Officer Familia’s family to admire it following his funeral.” The final product was spectacular (depicted in our cover photo above).
Despite the greatest intentions behind these police-commemorating murals, evildoers roam and ruin almost everything, including heartfelt icons honoring fallen police officers. Hateful perpetrators vandalized the super-scale portrayal of one of Worcester’s Finest.
Yet the good will persevere and prevail. Here is Ferdinand Nazario, the muralist who painted the original and returned to undo the vandalism, restoring Officer Familia’s memorial portrait to a pristine finish:
What a bittersweet story, especially caveated with the Familia fam launching The Manny 267 Foundation, instructing on water safety.
Like Detective Familia in the Bronx, and a street officially named after her, Worcester PD Officer Familia was honored by city officials declaring the pathway encircling the park where he drowned as “Officer Manny Familia Way.”
(Photo courtesy of Worcester Mayor Joe Petty.)
Law enforcement legends are often etched in stone. Sometimes they’re painted on bricks for all to see, surely never forgotten…thanks to the skilled hands and caring hearts of muralists taking on the large-scale job of depicting heroes in brilliant blue hues.