Representative Adriano Espaillat Leads Moment of Silence on House Floor to Honor Fallen NYPD Officers Lost to Gun Violence

Statement

Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) led his congressional colleagues on the U.S. House floor during a moment of silence to honor the lives of fallen NYPD Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, who were killed in the line of duty -- patrolling the 32nd Precinct in Harlem -- due to a senseless act of gun violence.

Watch Rep. Espaillat's remarks in full on Twitter and Facebook. *The following are remarks as prepared for delivery:

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I rise today because my district is hurting. Washington Heights/Inwood is hurting -- because they saw how Officer Jason Rivera were taken away from us. A 22 year old son of Inwood was taken away from us by gun violence when he responded to a family dispute.

But Harlem also is hurting -- because both Officer Rivera and Mora patrolled the 32nd Precinct in Harlem, and they were both brutally shot and killed in the village of Harlem. East Harlem is hurting, Madam Speaker, because we saw how a young woman, Krystal Bayron-Nieves, who worked in a Burger King, was shot and killed -- even though she gave the money from the register to the person that held up the Burger King at gunpoint, she was still brutally shot and killed, 19 years old.

And finally, Madam Speaker, the Bronx part of my district is also hurting because an eleven month old child, just before she turned one, sat in the car with her mother and was shot in the face. All of this happened within two weeks of each other. So my district is hurting as we bury these two young police officers, 22 and 27 years old, of Dominican heritage, the first in their family to serve the Police Department.

So gun violence is running rampant, and we see how many talk about law and order. But when it comes to gun violence, they're still in the pocket of the NRA, and they won't dare challenge the NRA.

So I rise because my district is hurting and we are supportive of Mayor Adams' plan of precision policing, which has identified 700 people that have been involved in 1,700 acts of violence involving an illegal weapon. We understand that much more has to be invested in ATF so we cut off the iron pipeline that brings weapons to the corners of my district -- from South Carolina and North Carolina and Georgia.

But we also have to invest $50 million in summer youth jobs. We got to invest more money to have the violence interrupters be part of the resolution of this violence ripping our communities across the country. We must all work together to resolve this epidemic of gun violence. We must pass the package of gun laws that we have here in this floor, including ghost guns, which continue to play an increased role in the death of people across the country, circumventing background checks and other restrictions that must be put in place to keep guns away from people's hands.

Madam Speaker, I urge my House colleagues to join me today for a minute of silence in the memory of Officer Rivera and Officer Mora and in support of their two families. We join them, and we will always be by their side. Madam Speaker, I asked for a minute of silence.

Madam Speaker, I yield back.

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