New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio may not have thought he was going to get a terribly warm reception at Monday’s NYPD graduation ceremony of incoming rookies, but he probably was not expecting to get booed and heckled during his remarks to the graduating class.
According to reports, the mayor was called a “traitor,” and audience members shouted out comments at him as he spoke.
“You will confront all the problems that plague our society, problems that you didn’t create,” de Blasio said, and a heckler yelled out: “You did!” to the mayor, causing some to laugh and clap.
De Blasio’s stormy relationship with the NYPD started even before he was sworn into office and campaigned against the department’s “Stop and Frisk” policy. Later, his response to an NYPD officer who was not indicted for the death of Staten Islander Eric Garner upset many members of the NYPD.
“It’s our job to protect you,” de Blasio said to the graduates, who concluded his speech to lukewarm applause and loud booing.
NYPD officers and other law enforcement turned their backs on de Blasio during his remarks at the funeral of now-NYPD Detective Rafael Ramos. Both Ramos and his partner Wenjian Liu were promoted to detectives posthumously after being fatally gunned down execution-style the weekend before Christmas. Liu’s funeral is scheduled for this weekend.
De Blasio will be meeting with the leaders of the city’s various police unions on Tuesday in a likely to attempt to mend fences.
According to de Basio’s office, along with Police Commissioner Bratton and other senior leadership of NYPD, de Blasio will meet with the Captains Endowment Association, Lieutenants Benevolent Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association, Detectives’ Endowment Association, and Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
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