Bratton: Police turning their backs on Mayor de Blasio was ‘very inappropriate.’
The NYPD Commissioner said on ‘Face the Nation’ that the stunning show of disrespect for City Hall during the funeral for Officer Rafael Ramos was in poor taste. In a separate appearance on ‘Meet the Press’ Bratton added that the rift between rank and file cops and de Blasio will likely ‘go on for a while.’
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, December 28, 2014, 11:59 AM
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1.2058730Police Commissioner William Bratton said Sunday cops need to listen to concerns about police abuse.
NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said Sunday it was “very inappropriate” for police offers to turn their backs on Mayor de Blasio as he delivered a eulogy for a fallen hero cop.
“I certainly don’t support that action yesterday. I think it was very inappropriate at that event,” Bratton said on “Face The Nation” Sunday.
“That funeral was held to honor Officer (Rafael) Ramos and to bring politics, to bring issues into that event was very inapproriate and I do not support it.”
But the issues at the root of the show of disrespect for City Hall will likely linger for some time, Bratton said.
"I think it's probably a rift that is going to go on for a while longer," Bratton said in a separate appearance on “Meet the Press.”
SHANNON STAPLETON/REUTERSLaw enforcement officers turned their backs on a live video monitor showing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio when he spoke at the funeral of slain NYPD officer Rafael Ramos near Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens.
"However, we will be making efforts to sit down and talk with the union leaders in particular to deal with their issues."
He attributed much of the dispute between City Hall and cops to issues “far beyond race relations in this city,” including unresolved labor contracts.
“We're the tip of the iceberg at the moment. This is about the continuing poverty rates, the continuing growing disparity between the wealthy and the poor. It's still about unemployment issues,” Bratton said. “There are so many national issues that have to be addressed that it isn't just policing.”
Bratton appeared somber one day after dozens of police under his command turned their backs on a video feed of de Blasio, ignoring the mayor's calls to keep politics out of the tragic day.
Bratton reiterated part of his own eulogy, noting that cops need to have more empathy for concerns about police abuse, particularly in black communities.
“I made comments yesterday in my eulogy about seeing each other to understand,” Bratton said. “When I say ‘see each other,’ that means to not look past each other, but to really see what is motivating what we're experiencing.”
On Saturday some 20,000 cops and civilian mourners bid farewell to Ramos, a pious policeman gunned down in his cruiser by an unhinged madman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley.
Officer Wenjian Liu was also shot dead in the cowardly attack. His funeral arrangements are still being arranged.
Patrick Lynch, head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, has said the cops’ blood is on de Blasio’s hands because he has failed to condemn protesters decrying police brutality.
