with the 2014 nfl player's association georgetown lombardi award. his friend and fellow anchor jay heir harris had to accept the award for him. he was 49 years old and had two teenage daughters. >>> today the nypd buried one of its own. they came to honor a fallen officer. but as we see, once again, there was controversy. ♪ >> reporter: on the streets of new york thousands of police officers paid tribute to a fallen brother wenjian liu. this was a show of solidarity representing departments from coast to coast. and a sign of solidarity for liu's grieving family. his young widow said he only wanted to serve his community. >> he is my hero. we can always count on him. >> reporter: his father's grief needed no translation. liu and his partner were eulogized by major bill de blasio. >> we lost the very best of us everything that we as new yorkers aspire to be. >> reporter: some officers turned their backs as the mayor spoke, believing he's been too supportive of anti-police protesters but for the most part this dreary day was about a community supportin