New York officials are treading carefully in the wake of the shooting of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos over the weekend, to the point that Governor Cuomo refused to explicity reject Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch’s comment that Mayor Bill de Blasio has blood on his hands. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton tried to do the same in an appearance on the Today show, though he might have riled some by remarking, “It’s quite obvious that the targeting of these two police officers was a direct spinoff of the issues of these demonstrations.”
When asked if the mayor has lost the “trust and confidence of the police force,” Bratton acknowledged “I think he’s lost it with some officers,” but he said he was not in favor of police turning their backs on de Blasio in the hospital on Saturday night. “I don’t support that particular activity,” he said. “I don’t think it was appropriate, particularly in that setting but it’s reflective of the anger of some of them.”
Bratton made it clear that he stands with the mayor personally, rejecting the idea that de Blasio has increased the threat against police officers. “I don’t believe that at all. I’ve spent a lot of time with this man,” Bratton said, citing the mayor’s help in securing extra funding for the NYPD this year.
He also disagreed with his former boss Rudy Giuliani over his suggestion that de Blasio owes the NYPD an apology. “I don’t know that an apology is necessary,” Bratton said. He added that debate on the issue is starting to fall along partisan lines, which he finds “unfortunate.”
“This is something that should be bringing us all together, not taking us apart,” he said.
