Police in New York City have twice turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio because they feel insulted by his anti-police rhetoric and believe it has fueled a hostile climate for law enforcement that contributed to the murder of two NYPD officers, a former member of the department told
Newsmax TV on Monday.
John Cardillo, a blogger and former policeman, told "MidPoint" guest host Ric Blackwell that,
unlike former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, he supports his NYPD brethren's using the symbolic back-turning to register their disapproval.
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"I worked as a police officer under [Giuliani] and I have nothing but respect for the man," said Cardillo. "I fundamentally disagree with him on this because Bill de Blasio did something so beyond the pale that it affected the officers, who are human beings, who put their lives on the line every day.
"And they felt — in the words they used and I agree with — the mayor used incendiary rhetoric that led to mass civil unrest and potentially the murders of police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos," said Cardillo.
"So, I agree wholeheartedly with former Mayor Giuliani that Mayor De Blasio owes the NYPD an apology," he said. "I respectfully disagree with him on the point that it was inappropriate of the NYPD."
One group of current and former police officers released a statement through Cardillo's blog on Friday after
they sent up an airplane banner reading, "De Blasio, Our Backs Have Turned to You."
Tensions between de Blasio and city police burst into view after Ismaaiyl Brinsley, vowing revenge for unarmed black men killed in encounters with police, shot officers Liu and Ramos on Dec. 20 before taking his own life.
Police first turned their backs on de Blasio en masse at a Brooklyn hospital after the shootings, and then again on Saturday when he spoke at Ramos' funeral service. Cardillo said that, by contrast, officers at the funeral were heartened and moved by the remarks and support of Vice President Joe Biden.
The mayor heard boos as well as cheers on Monday while speaking at a graduation ceremony for new police recruits.
Cardillo said the schism has its roots in remarks that were "unprecedented" coming from a mayor — specifically, de Blasio's stating that he feared that his own biracial, teenage son, Dante, could be harmed by police.
"At that point, the police officers were so insulted on a personal level that this transcended politics and this transcended tradition," said Cardillo.
He said cops also feel more at risk since the murders, and in an atmosphere marked by sometimes violent protests this year over policing.
"It's no coincidence now that there are these random attacks on cops," said Cardillo. "It has to do with the protests. It has to do with the left-wing media's inciteful reporting, where they're making it seem as if police officers are these violent, corrupt individuals — which they're not — and they're glorifying these protestors, many of whom are just common thugs and criminals."
But Cardillo said that regardless of their relationship with the mayor, the police will get on with their work — which he said they do effectively, as evidenced by a continuing drop in crime rates in New York under de Blasio's police commissioner, William Bratton.
"Despite politics, NYC police officers still suit up, put on their vests and guns, get in their cars and go out every day to fight crime in as dedicated a way as they would if they had the most supportive mayor on the planet," he said.