Slain Police Officer Wenjian Liu was only 12 years old when he

Slain Police Officer Wenjian Liu was only 12 years old when he and his family left China 20 years ago in pursuit of the “American dream.” Officer Liu was not the first Asian-American police officer to die in the line of duty; Officer Kevin Lee of the Bronx died of a heart attack while pursuing a suspect in 2006, and Detective Richard J. Guerzon, who was of Filipino descent, was shot with his partner while driving a prisoner to Rikers Island in 1989.

But Officer Liu’s is the first funeral that Lieutenant Giorgio can recall that will incorporate Chinese traditions.

Liu wanted a chance at an education and opportunity that aren’t easy to achieve in other countries.

After Kingsborough Community College, he began his career with the NYPD, graduating from the Police Academy in 2007 after starting as an auxiliary officer for the 72nd Precinct in Brooklyn.

He was working out of the 79th Precinct when he and his partner, Officer Rafael Ramos, were ambushed by gunman Ismaaiyl Brinsley on Dec. 20 while they sat in their patrol car in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

James Ng, president of the National Asian Peace Officers Association, told the Associated Press that Liu was conversant in several Chinese dialects and helped the department with community relations in Chinese neighborhoods.

A police ceremony with a police chaplain and eulogies will follow a Chinese ceremony led by Buddhist monks. Mourners will burn ceremonial paper money and objects in front of his photograph — riches, according to Chinese custom, for the afterlife.

The wake for Liu will be held from 1 to 9 p.m. on Saturday in Aievoli Funeral Home, Brooklyn, ABC-7 reported. The funeral service will be Sunday at 10 a.m. in the funeral home.

Source www.nytimes.com and AP.