NY police chief urges no protests at funeral for slain cop
New York (AFP) - New York police chief Bill Bratton urged officers not to vent their fury at the city's mayor ahead of services starting Saturday to honor one of two cops shot dead last month.
A wake was planned for Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn for Wenjian Liu, 32, shot to death on December 20 with his partner by a gunman who claimed to be acting in revenge for the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police.
Liu's funeral is set for Sunday, also in Brooklyn, with high-level guests to include Mayor Bill de Blasio and FBI director James Comey.
De Blasio also attended services last week for officer Rafael Ramos, and many police watching on screens outside the church turned their backs in protest as the mayor took the podium.
Police commissioner Bratton urged his force this weekend not to repeat the performance, which he has previously called "very inappropriate."
"A hero's funeral is about grieving, not grievance," Bratton wrote in a memo to the 34,000 New York police officers.
"I issue no mandates, and I make no threats of discipline, 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."
More than 20,000 police officers from across the United States attended the funeral for Ramos.
Ramos, 40, and Liu, were shot in the head as they sat in their patrol car by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who police said had a clear anti-police bias and posted Instagram comments that were anti-government and referenced two unarmed black men killed recently by police.
The killing of the two officers in broad daylight shocked New Yorkers and caused a long-running dispute between the mayor and the police to spill over into public view.
Some officers have been highly critical of de Blasio for remarks about police relations with black Americans that they say incited the shooting.
They remain angered, in particular, over de Blasio's statement that he counsels his biracial son to be particularly careful around police officers.
