Police officers turn their backs on Mayor de Blasio during eulogy for Officer Rafael Ramos
Dozens of police officers from the NYPD and other departments turned their backs on de Blasio once again in response to what many officers considered anti-police sentiment from him.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Saturday, December 27, 2014, 1:05 PM
Updated: Saturday, December 27, 2014, 11:12 PM
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VIOREL FLORESCU/NORTH JERSEY/LANDOVPolice officers turn away from Mayor de Blasio as he speaks at the funeral service Saturday for NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos.
On the day the NYPD buried a fallen hero, its rank and file continued their bitter grudge against Mayor de Blasio.
Hundreds of city cops, joined by colleagues from across the nation outside Christ Tabernacle Church, greeted the mayor’s eulogy of Officer Rafael Ramos by turning their backs in protest.
The officers stood Saturday morning on Myrtle Ave., watching the Ramos funeral on large video screens, when de Blasio stepped to the pulpit — and they spun in protest.
Two NYPD officers said the anti-City Hall demonstration was spontaneous. It spread quickly through the sea of blue on the street in Glendale, Queens.
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The cops stood mutely as the mayor’s words of praise for both Ramos and the NYPD echoed across the cool December morning, falling on deaf ears.
Officers from other departments who came to the funeral joined the New York contingent in dissing the mayor, whose remarks were greeted with no applause and a lack of emotion by the thousands of cops on the street.
“I’ve got nothing personal against the man, but in solidarity I wanted to do it,” said Deputy Juan Guzman of the Alexandria, Va., police. “So many out-of-state officers did it. It wasn’t planned. Everyone just started to do it.”
NYPD officers pulled the same move one week earlier when de Blasio arrived at Woodhull Hospital after the stunning double murder.
SHANNON STAPLETON/REUTERSLaw enforcement officers turn their backs on a video monitor showing Mayor de Blasio speaking during funeral of slain NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos.
Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association head Patrick Lynch said the mayor had “blood on his hands” after the killings last weekend in Brooklyn.
But the union leadership toned down the rhetoric after de Blasio issued an appeal for calm until Ramos and his slain partner, Wenjian Liu, were buried. Lynch downplayed the funeral protest.
“We have to understand the betrayal that they feel,” he told CNN. “But today, we come in mourning, and tomorrow we’ll debate.”
Mayoral spokesman Wiley Norvell declined to comment directly on Saturday’s back-turning.
“The Ramos and Liu families, our police department and our city are dealing with an unconscionable tragedy,” Norvell said. “Our sole focus is unifying this city and honoring the lives of our two police officers.”
One of the officers who joined in Saturday’s protest echoed Lynch, blaming the mayor’s comments about the NYPD for fostering anti-cop attitudes since his January inauguration.
“If you stand up in a movie theater and yell, ‘Fire!’ and somebody gets trampled, you’re responsible,’ ” the officer said. “If the fire chief stands up in the same theater and says the same thing, it’s even worse.”
Union leaders have said cops don’t feel supported by de Blasio. They were incensed by the mayor’s backing of Rachel Noerdlinger, the former chief of staff for First Lady Chirlane McCray, despite anti-police comments made on social media by her son and boyfriend.
Many cops were enraged when the mayor said he told his biracial son to be wary of police. And some are angry that de Blasio didn’t support Officer Daniel Pantaleo earlier this month after a grand jury voted not to indict the cop in the July chokehold death of Eric Garner on Staten Island.
Just prior to the murders of Liu and Ramos, the PBA posted a form letter on its website for officers to ask that de Blasio not attend their funerals if killed in the line of duty.
On Friday, a protest banner pulled by a plane flew along the Hudson River for five hours before the start of Ramos’ wake. It declared, “DE BLASIO, OUR BACKS HAVE TURNED TO YOU.” It was paid for by a group of current and retired cops.
The banner refers to last week’s show of anger toward de Blasio at Woodhull Hospital.
De Blasio speaks at the funeral for NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos at the Glendale Christ Tabernacle Church on Saturday.
Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.), after attending the funeral, said he understood why the officers turned their backs on Saturday.
“There are very real emotions here,” he said. “I think it shows the mayor has a long road ahead of him to straighten relations out with the police.
“They lost two of their brothers. My father was a cop, the feelings are very raw. I’m not going to judge them at all.”
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a harsh de Blasio critic, thought the cops went too far by turning their backs. “The office of mayor is entitled to the greatest respect, having been a mayor,” Giuliani said. “But I understand their emotion.”
Funeral plans for Liu have not been finalized.
