A hero’s farewell
Miosotis Familia was ‘more than just a cop’
Along the Grand Concourse, a main street in the Bronx, street-
lights were adorned with blue ribbons. Nearly 25,000 Law en-
forcement officers from as far away as the United Arab Emirates,
San Francisco and the Dominican Republic lined this corridor,
growing the thin blue line to a thick blue sea.
They had come to present arms and salute NYPD Detective
Miosotis Familia, who was assassinated just after midnight on
the Fourth of July, just as she was about to end her tour. Civilians
waved American flags, Blue Line flags and flags from the Domin-
ican Republic to honor her family’s homeland.
Inside the World Changers Church on the Grand Concourse,
a large photo of a beaming Familia, with an American flag as a
backdrop, covered the front of the pulpit. Floral arrangements
lined the stage, including one shaped like a badge and another
reading “Blue Lives Matter.”
The NJ State PBA Special Services trailer and the Port Authority
Local 116 trailer joined a sea of similar vehicles from Boston and
many other cities and had run short on its sustenance support
of officers by the time the 10 a.m. funeral began on July 11. The
scene reminded of the tributes and emotions that poured out
nearly a year ago when five officers in Dallas were assassinated,
not to mention when NYPD Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenji-
an Liu were similarly killed in cold blood in 2014.
“It’s really not fair, it’s really sad and it just rips your heart out,”
observed Executive Vice President Marc Kovar, who led a large
contingent of NJ State PBA officers attending Familia’s funeral.
“It’s not like they even went out on a call. How do you stop a mad-
man from walking up and shooting you?”
Genesis Villella, Miosotis’ 20-year old daughter, grabbed her
12-year-old twin siblings, Peter and Delilah, and presented a
tear-filled, inspirational message to the 4,000 mourners who
crammed into the church.
“My mom wasn’t just a cop, a police officer, a detective,” Villella
began. “My mom, she is protector, defender, guidance counselor,
spiritual advisor, philosopher, philanthropist, theorist and moth-
er.”
Tears then rolled down her face as Villella delivered a heart-
breaking account of their mother’s final goodbye. As the clock
neared midnight on the Fourth of July, Familia gave her daughter
two big hugs while Villella pinched her mom’s cheeks.
“And I said, ‘Can I have one more hug?’” Villella recalled as she
wept. “And she said, ‘Of course you can.’ And I said, ‘I love you so
much, mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.’”
The heart-wrenching funeral came on the 12th anniversary of
Familia’s NYPD swearing-in, the realization of a lifelong dream.
Before joining the NYPD in 2005, Familia spent five years as a pa-
tient care assistant at New York University Hospital and another
two working for the American Red Cross.
In addition to her time working in the emergency room and as
a Red Cross medical assistant, Familia attended Ohio State Uni-
versity’s College of Medicine. She later majored in applied sci-
ences and psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
between 2007 and 2009.
While raising her kids as a single parent, Familia also tended to
her 86-year-old mother — who was recovering from recent sur-
gery for oral cancer. Familia was one of 10 siblings.
Though her family hailed from the Dominican Republic, Fa-
milia was born in the U.S. and raised in the same Bronx neigh-
borhood where her family now lives.
In Memoriam
Detective Miosotis Familia
NYPD
End of Watch: July 4, 2017
The 48-year-old Familia was assigned to an anti-crime team
stationed on the corner of 183rd Street and Morris Avenue in the
Bronx when parolee Alexander Bonds, 34, walked up to the vehi-
cle and shot her in the head around 12:30 a.m. Bonds, who served
at least two terms in state prison for drug and armed robbery,
had been tracked by police and emergency medical workers in
the hours leading up to the shooting after his girlfriend called of-
ficials. Bonds was later shot and killed by officers during a short
chase after he fled following the single fatal shot.
Despite the difficult circumstances, several speakers referred
to the funeral as a celebration of Familia’s life.
“We’re here to lay a hero to rest,” said New York City Mayor Bill
de Blasio. “She was strong, but kind, resourceful and energetic.
She embodies the American Dream — a child of immigrants, the
first in her family to go to college, a beautiful New York City story.”
As she addressed the crowd, Familia’s sister Mercedes placed a
hand over her heart and called for peace.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 48
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ JULY 2017 47