A bilingual service
The hearse arrives for the funeral of fallen Nassau Police Officer Patricia Espinosa at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church on Thursday in Smithtown. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
The funeral service is in English and Spanish.
Espinosa’s husband, Nassau police officer Francisco Malaga, read Scripture in Spanish, and her brother also read a passage during the ceremony.
Nassau Police Chaplain Gerard Gordon said he visited Sunday with Espinosa's family at home in Saint James, where he gathered around the dinner table with other members of the department showing support.
They told stories of Espinosa and how she had bound their lives together. Gordon said as he told Espinosa's husband and parents, "You raised an exceptional family.
"For that reason, you will get through this time of tragedy, but that will be done together as the family that your parents created," Gordon said.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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