Police Officers Salute NYC Mayor de Blasio, NYPD Commissioner at Wake for Slain Officer
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JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The wake for Detective Wenjian Liu, one of the two New York Police Department officers shot while sitting in their patrol car two weeks ago, was held on Saturday, and despite weeks of tension between police officers and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, officers saluted the mayor.
Both de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton were saluted by officers as they entered a Brooklyn funeral home for Saturday’s wake.
Last week, at a graduation ceremony for the other officer, Rafael Ramos, hundreds of officers turned their backs on de Blasio. Officers had been upset at de Blasio’s response to the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who was put into an apparent chokehold by NYPD officers during an arrest for selling loose cigarettes. The mayor, whose wife is black, said that he has spoken to his son about how to act if he were to be stopped by police.
On Friday, Bratton wrote a memo to officers saying that “a hero’s funeral is about grieving, not grievance.” That memo, in advance of the Sunday funeral for Liu, said that the actions of some officers at Ramos’ funeral turned the nation’s attention to “an act of disrespect” displayed by a small portion of the law enforcement officers in attendance.
“I issue no mandates, and I make no threats of discipline,” Bratton said, “but I remind you that when you don the uniform of this department, you are bound by the tradition, honor and decency that go with it.”
Liu’s funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday.
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