NYPD officers again turn their backs on mayor
New York Police Department officers on Sunday again turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), this time during the memorial service for officer Wenjian Liu.
{mosads}The Associated Press reported that thousands of officers turned their backs on de Blasio while he gave a eulogy for Liu, who was killed in his patrol car on Dec. 20 along with another officer by a gunman who threatened retribution for the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
The act of protest comes despite a call from top NYPD officials, who had asked the officers not to take political action during the services for Liu, according to Yahoo News.
Officers have been upset with de Blasio for the mayor’s comments following the death of Garner, an unarmed black Staten Island man who was killed in a police chokehold. A grand jury decided not to indict the white officer in that case.
“As we start a new year, a year we’re entering with hearts that are doubly heavy,” de Blasio said at the funeral, according to Yahoo. “Let us rededicate ourselves to those great New York traditions of mutual understanding and living in harmony. Let us move forward by strengthening the bonds that unite us, and let us work together to attain peace.”
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