Several Bay Area police and sheriff's departments sent officers to attend the funeral Sunday for slain New York City police Officer Wenjian Liu.
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, San Mateo Police Department, Oakland Police Department, San Leandro Police Department, Santa Clara Police Department, San Jose Police Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and Menlo Park Police Department were just a few of the agencies that posted comments or pictures on Twitter of their officers at the funeral.
The San Francisco Police Department sent eight officers and the Asian Peace Officers' Association also sent a group, police said.
The Bay Area was one of many areas to send police officers of Chinese-American heritage - from places such as Illinois, Canada and elsewhere to the funeral, not only because they lost a fellow cop, but because the story of the fallen officer was also their own.
"When we saw the spelling of his name, we knew he was from mainland China, and we knew we had to go," said Toronto police Constable Qian L. Yang, an immigrant from China told NBC News. "We have the same background, the same culture. We wanted to show our respect."
Santa Clara police Lt. Todd Cummins said the department was deeply saddened by the tragedy. The department sent two representatives from its honor guard, he said.
"It's a different crime when someone assassinates a police officer just because they're police officers," Cummins said.
San Mateo County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Rebecca Rosenblatt described Liu's death as "heinous" and said the officers wanted to support both the New York City Police Department and the New York community "in its darkest hour."
"People always talk about law enforcement being one big family," Rosenblatt said. "And it does, it feels like losing a member of our family or our extended family."
Rosenblatt said three officers volunteered to make the trek, with the airfare paid by JetBlue.
JetBlue representative Morgan Johnston said the airline flew 1,146 officers from across the country to attend Liu's funeral.
"We have a long history of supporting those who support our community," Johnston said. "New York is our home town, so we felt it was the right thing to do."
Participants at the funeral described a "sea of blue," as thousands of officers paid their respects.
"I think despite how sad and troublesome this event is, there is something to be said for seeing how the community of law enforcement has come to support each other," Rosenblatt said.
NBC News contributed to this report.
