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Heartbreaking funeral photos Tuesday captured the pure grief of the young daughter of an NYPD recruit who fatally collapsed during a run at the Police Academy last week.
Tearful relatives and colleagues gathered to mourn the loss of Kamir Lou-Barria, 30, who passed out during a group run with his fellow probationary cops Sept. 7.
In one especially heartwrenching moment, Lou-Barria’s young daughter Nidia inconsolably wept while her mother, Alexsandra, hugged her from behind outside of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Ozone Park, Queens.
“Alexsandra, after Kamir died, you said that he was your everything,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during the funeral, directly addressing Lou-Barria’s widow. “Nothing I can say today could more fully capture the depth of what you and your children have lost.”
“Kamir spoke about his family often at the academy, and it was clear that you were at the center of the life he was building,” Tisch said. “For his family, there will always be a space that cannot be filled.”
Born in Panama, Lou-Barria came to the US in 2014, married Alexsandra in 2019, became a father, studied criminal justice and once worked for the US Postal Service, the top cop said.
A sea of solemn, gray-clad recruits joined in paying their respects to Lou-Barria, who the commissioner said “came to our Department with such hope and purpose.
“He did not get the years he deserved to serve this city as a police officer,” Tisch said. “But there was meaning in the choice he had already made – in the fact that he wanted to devote his life to helping other people and that he worked so hard to put himself in a position to do it.”
Lou-Barria was running with other recruits when he said he didn’t feel well and wanted to walk, law-enforcement sources said.
A sergeant was walking with him when he collapsed, according to the sources.
Lou-Barria was breathing and awake for a period of time after CPR was administered, the sources said.
Both Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Tisch visited the hospital at some point after the recruit’s condition worsened.
Lou-Barria had just joined the police department in April, records show.
“Our hearts are heavy following the death of our brother police officer who collapsed during training at the Police Academy today,” Police Benevolent Association union President Patrick Hendry said in a statement on X.
“Although his NYPD career was just beginning, he was already a hero, simply for choosing to raise his right hand and dedicate his life to protecting New Yorkers.
“His fellow police officers will continue to stand by his family to support them in any way we can during this incredibly difficult time.”
-Additional reporting by Larry Celona
English (US)