New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, widely credited for helping heal racial tensions as the top cop in Los Angeles in the 2000s, is once again assuming the role of peacemaker, this time between the police and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, according to
The New York Times.
Bratton made the rounds on the Sunday talk show circuit, where he criticized rank-and-file officers who turned their backs as the mayor spoke at the funeral Saturday of slain officer Rafael Ramos.
He also acknowledged it will be a "painful process" to settle differences between the police and the community, and the police and de Blasio.
Law enforcement officers feel betrayed by the mayor, who has shown support for the protesters while giving an impression, according to former city Mayor Rudy Giuliani, that de Blasio sympathized more with the protesters than his own police department,
The Wall Street Journal reports.
"He should have apologized for the remarks that he made that gave the police the impression that he’s on the other side," Giuliani said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Bratton plans to meet with police union leaders and others to discuss their concerns, according to The Journal.
On NBC’s "Meet the Press," Bratton also said that he realizes the "rift" between law enforcement and de Blasio is likely "to go on for a while longer."
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Since protests began following grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of two black men — Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York — de Blasio has upset many officers for speaking glowingly of Garner while saying he has warned his own biracial son about the dangers of interacting with police.
A de Blasio aide told the Journal that the mayor and the NYPD have invited five police unions to meet about "fostering a constructive and responsible dialogue that moves us forward together."
Bratton said Sunday on "Meet the Press" that perceptions by African-Americans, regardless of class, that they may be mistreated by police, "is the reality that we have to deal with."
He has made sure to defend his officers as well, saying police have been "saddled with societal ills that extend far beyond the doors of any police station," according to The Times.
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