A week after members of the NYPD turned their backs to Mayor Bill de Blasio while he spoke at the funeral of one of the officers killed in Brooklyn last month, some followed suit at the second officer's funeral today. Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were fatally shot by Ismaaiyl Brinsley while seated in their police car on Dec. 20.
The New York Times reports that thousands of uniformed officers turned their backs to de Blasio while he spoke at the service for Officer Wenjian Liu. This wanton display of disrespect mirrors the actions of police at the service for Officer Ramos last Saturday:
Scores of officers in pressed blue uniforms — among thousands crowded in the rain outside the funeral of one of their own — turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio as he delivered a eulogy on Sunday praising the slain officer as an example of a brave and kind New Yorker who came to New York from China and followed his dream to join the Police Department.
Some police in New York City believe the mayor's show of sympathy for Eric Garner supporters was a slight against them. This move is a reflection of those misguided beliefs. It also comes a day after NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton specifically asked police not to make any bold political statements at Officer Liu's funeral.
Earlier this week, de Blasio announced that two streets in Brooklyn will be co-named after Ramos and Liu.
[via New York Times]
