De Blasio and NYPD Leaders Talk Without Mending Fences

Andrew Burton/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio met with police union leaders Tuesday in an effort to clear the air about the mayor’s perceived lack of support for rank and file cops.

However, the two-hour meeting produced little in the way of mending fences, according to The New York Times, with union leaders airing their grievances that included their belief that de Blasio is more in tune with anti-police protesters and the Rev. Al Sharpton, a persistent critic of law enforcement.

For his part, the Times said de Blasio insisted past statements he’s made put him more in the NYPD’s corner than his detractors claim. The mayor also said he denounced anti-police sentiments made by demonstrators upset with a grand jury’s decision not to return an indictment against a cop who brought down street vendor Eric Garner with an apparently deadly chokehold.

But in spite of talks described as intense but not impolite, union officials indicated afterwards there was very little accomplished.

Patrick Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, told reporters, “Our thought here today is that actions speak louder than words, and time will tell.”

It was Lynch who put part of the blame on de Blasio for the ambush shooting deaths of two officers sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn 12 days ago, alleging the mayor’s rhetoric helped spur a deranged lone gunman to take out his frustrations on cops.

As a result, a number of police officers turned their backs on de Blasio at a hospital the day when officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were killed and a second time last Saturday at Ramos’ funeral. Liu’s funeral is set for Sunday.

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