Although the relationship between members of New York’s finest and current mayor Bill de Blasio continues to deteriorate following the execution of two NYPD officers, the entire department is now under attack for turning their back on the mayor as he delivered a speech at the funeral of Officer Rafael Ramos on December 27.
Criticizing the actions of the NYPD the New York Times wrote, ““Mr. de Blasio isn’t going to say it, but somebody has to: With these acts of passive-aggressive contempt and self-pity, many New York police officers, led by their union, are squandering the department’s credibility, defacing its reputation, shredding its hard-earned respect.” The editorial continued, “They have taken the most grave and solemn of civic moments — a funeral of a fallen colleague — and hijacked it for their own petty look-at-us gesture. In doing so, they also turned their backs on Mr. Ramoss’ widow and her two young sons, and others in that grief-struck family.”
The stand-off stems from the recent Eric Garner verdict, as many officers have accused the mayor of siding with the flood of protesters who took to the streets to voice their growing frustration with perceived police misconduct.