Most Cops Reportedly Wouldn’t Mind If de Blasio Attended Their Funeral

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 28: Police stand near where two U.S. Marshals and one New York Police Department (NYPD) detective were shot in the afternoon along a quiet street on July 28, 2014 in the West Village of Manhattan, New York City. While details are still emerging, the officer and marshals were trying to apprehend a suspect who was shot and killed in the incident. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Back in mid-December — just before the murders of two officers in Brooklyn — the NYPD’s biggest union, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, began encouraging its members to ban Mayor de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito from their potential memorial services. “I, as a New York City police officer, request that [de Blasio and Mark-Viverito] refrain from attending my funeral services in the event that I am killed in the line of duty,” read an online form that cited the mayor and the speaker’s “consistent refusal to show police officers the support and respect they deserve.” So how many cops actually signed it?

Not very many, at least according to the New York Daily News. The paper’s sources said that only 850 cops — or 4 percent of the PBA’s 23,000-person membership — filled out the document. A PBA spokesperson countered that the publication’s number was “totally bogus,” saying, “We haven’t collected them yet.” One source blamed the low sign-ups on PBA head Pat Lynch’s decision to post the form without really consulting anyone else. “It was just his idea and he threw it out there,” said the source. On to the next stunt.

Most Cops Fine With de Blasio at Funeral