New York City Mayor Aims to Placate Police, Calls for Protests’ End

Police Union Blames Protesters for Weekend Police Killings

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio seems to be immediately backing down after being confronted by NYPD union leaders angry at him for criticizing past incidents of police brutality and killings of civilians, today jumping on the bandwagon and calling for an end to all public protests against police in this “difficult moment.”

The police union had blamed the protesters and the mayor for a weekend killing of two NYPD officers in Brooklyn, and have threatened to put themselves on a wartime footing against the protesters and against “enemies in City Hall.”

The police unions were angry with de Blasio from the start, as the mayor campaigned on a platform of police reform, including ending the practice of racial profiling.

De Blasio insisted that the protesters need to end their rallies and accept his promise that they will discuss the police killings of civilians “in due time,” and instead focus on supporting the police.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.