NYC mayor calls for halt to protests in the wake of NYPD officer executions
By RYAN GORMAN
Embattled New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has called for all politics to be "put aside" while police officers and families of two slain cops mourn their killings.
Speaking to a Police Athletic League luncheon televised across the country, de Blasio said the fatal shootings of officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were "an attack on all of us."
A visibly upset de Blasio appeared at the podium to a standing ovation only hours after visiting the slain officers' families, which he said "experienced the worst possible moment.
"With no warning their loved one was gone ... Just one moment and then they were gone."
The mayor said consoling the families of murder victims is something he "is not used to [and] one of the most difficult elements" of his job.
"Officer Ramos and Officer Liu stood for all that was good in this society," de Blasio continued.
The Brooklyn Democrat appeared to backpedal from the recent hard stances taken against his police department.
"An attack on them was an attack on all of us, attack on our democracy, attack on our values, attack on every single New Yorker."
He appealed for everyone to see the attacks through the eyes of the slain officers' loved ones.
"It's a time for everyone to take stock," said de Blasio. "There are things that unite us ... we all see the world through the prism of our own families."
The best way to respect their mourning, said the mayor, is to put off the protesting and anti-police rhetoric for the time being.
"Our first obligation is to respect these families in mourning," he continued. "I think it's time to put aside political debates, put aside protests ... all things we will talk about in coming days."
De Blasio lamented that while most New Yorkers will be celebrating the upcoming holidays, two families will be preparing for funerals.
"I would ask that any organization that were planning gatherings for politics or protests. That could be for another day."
The mayor asked that people console police officers they see on the streets as they would the families of the fallen officers.
"Take a moment when you see a police officer to thank them and console them."
Romero leaves behind a wife and 13-year-old son. Liu was married only months ago.
"We will get through this," said de Blasio.
De Blasio's desperate pleas for unity come after he was asked by the police union to not attend the funerals of officers who die in the line of duty and also after a PBA memo circulated in the hours after the shootings claimed the mayor has "blood on his hands."
The police union has yet to respond to the mayor's comments.
Related links:
NYPD Commish Bratton: Mayor de Blasio owes no apology as tensions escalate to 1970s levels
Major rift emerges between NYPD, mayor in wake of officers being shot dead
'#ShootThePolice': Crazed man's online ranting before executing two NYPD officers, committing suicide
