NYPD Chief: Cops Who Turned Backs 'Inappropriate'

But, says Bratton, cops 'feel under attack'
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 28, 2014 1:23 PM CST
NYPD Chief: Cops Who Turned Backs 'Inappropriate'
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton speaks during a news conference at Woodhull Medical Center, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, in New York.   (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is no fan of the rank-and-file who again turned their back on Mayor Bill de Blasio at yesterday's funeral for Rafael Ramos. "I certainly don’t support that action yesterday," he said today on Face the Nation, as per the Hill. "I think it was very inappropriate at that event." He acknowledged that tensions between City Hall and police will "go on for a while" and that they "go far beyond race relations in this city" and "involve labor contracts (and) a lot of history." But in officers' defense, he says that in light of protests "they really do feel under attack, rank and file officers and much of American police leadership, that they feel that they are under attack from the federal government at the highest levels." He continued, "We have a lot of talking we’re going to have to do here to understand both sides of this issue. This is not a one-sided issue."

Meanwhile, de Blasio predecessor Rudy Giuliani jumped right in, agreeing that cops shouldn't have acted out. "The mayor is not in any way to be treated with people turning their backs," he said. He characterized an NYPD union boss' allegation that de Blasio had "blood" on his hands as "overboard," and "a terrible thing to suggest about a mayor." But, he said, de Blasio "should have apologized for the remarks he made that gave the police the impression that he's on the other side." The Hill notes that de Blasio had taken heat for saying he warned his biracial son that cops might treat him more suspiciously because of his race. (More William Bratton stories.)

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