Winnipeg RCMP officer attends New York cop’s funeral

A Winnipeg RCMP officer was among the 25,000 police officers who attended the funeral of one of two New York City police officers killed on the job.

Officer Darren Brown was one of dozens of Canadian police officers who travelled to Queen’s, N.Y. for the funeral of Rafael Ramos.  Ramos died, along with his partner, after being shot by a man who had promised revenge for the deaths of two black men at the hands of police.

The Mountie's trip was paid for by the D Division's slain peace officer fund.

Several dozen officers from Toronto, and members of Sûreté du Québec, the province’s police force, also attended the funeral.

The gunman in the attack, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, killed himself after ambushing the two officers on Dec. 20. Police said earlier that day he had shot and wounded an ex-girlfriend in Baltimore.

Before the attack, Brinsley had referenced the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner in a series of online posts. Both the Brown and Garner case have prompted protests in New York City, and across the U.S.

- With a report from Josh Dehaas and files from The Associated Press