New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Monday acknowledged that Mayor Bill de Blasio has lost the trust of some police officers following the killing of two Brooklyn cops.
“I think he has lost it with some officers,” Bratton said on NBC’s “Today,” addressing the growing rift between the New York City Police Department and the mayor.
Critics have accused de Blasio of inciting anti-police sentiment, which they say led to the deaths of Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. Before the killings, the shooter posted on social media that he was “putting wings on pigs today.”
De Blasio had been particularly critical of how police targeted minority suspects after the chokehold death of Eric Garner in Staten Island.
Cops turned their backs on de Blasio during remarks he gave Saturday, a high-profile statement against the mayor’s actions in recent weeks.
De Blasio is set to speak at a police luncheon later Monday, when he will address the simmering tensions in New York City.
However, Bratton said he did not think de Blasio needed to apologize to police officers.
“I don’t know that an apology is necessary,” he said. “One of the things, a concern at the moment, is this issue is really starting to go down partisan lines Republican/Democrat. This is something that should be bringing us all together, not taking us apart.”
