Biden: NY officers’ deaths touched soul of nation

NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden says the slayings of two New York City police officers in an ambush shooting have “touched the soul of an entire nation.”

Biden addressed hundreds of police officers and family and friends of Officer Rafael Ramos inside the Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens on Saturday.

Outside the church, thousands of police officers watched the funeral service on giant screens. Biden drew sustained applause when he called the New York Police Department the finest in the world.

Funeral plans for Ramos’ partner, Officer Wenjian Liu, have yet to be announced.

The officers were killed Dec. 20 while sitting in their cruiser on a Brooklyn street. The assailant killed himself.