Maine College To Cover Education Costs For Son of Slain NYC Cop

The President of a Maine college has pledged to cover the educational costs of one of its students whose police officer father was recently killed in New York City. And now, police around the country are being warned to watch their backs.

New York City police officers Rafael Ramos, age 40, and Wenjiian Liu, age 32, were shot to death while they sat in their cruiser on Saturday. Their assailant then killed himself. Now, police around the country are being warned to take precautions against similar attacks in retaliation for the deaths of black men at the hands of white police officers. According to the Associated Press, police are being advised to wear bulletproof vests and not to make inflammatory comments on social media. Philadelphia's Police Commissioner is urging the leaders of protests over the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown not to let the violence escalate any further.

Over the weekend, a charitable branch of the New York Yankees offered to set aside a total of $40,000 for the educations of Ramos' two sons. The Silver Shield Foundation  is a charity founded by the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

But Sunday, in an email to the Bowdoin College Community, President Barry Mills wrote that they are eager to welcome Ramos' son Justin, who is a student there, back to the campus in January or whenever he is ready to return. He went on to say that they will support him through this difficult time with whatever he needs and, in the meantime, will respect his privacy and that of his family.

The letter went on to say that Justin had been informed on Sunday that the college will provide full financial aid to cover his expenses for the rest of his education there. That is in keeping with Bowdoin's standard policy of ensuring its students get a full education.

A post on Bowdoin's website went on to say that school officials are "grateful for the Yankee Silver Shield Foundation's offer to assist, but Bowdoin has it covered."