It is clear that life for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is going to get worse before it gets better — if it gets better. Two days after police from near and far turned their backs on the mayor as he delivered a eulogy for one of two fallen NYPD officers, he received an even chillier treatment at a swearing-in ceremony for new recruits at Madison Square Garden. Hizzoner was booed frequently, with one heckler even shouting “traitor” as the mayor spoke.
Via the New York Post:
Mayor Bill de Blasio was booed and heckled as he spoke to the city’s newest cops Monday morning….
“You will confront all manner of problems … problems that you didn’t create,” de Blasio told the crowd.
“You did!” someone yelled back, prompting laughter and applause.
Watch video of his remarks below:
The mayor has made a series of incendiary comments about New York City police in the wake of the Eric Garner incident and subsequent lack of indictment. Garner was placed in a chokehold by a police officer, with many complaining he used excessive force.
De Blasio, rather than trying to quell concerns by saying this might be an isolated incident, he instead claimed that the police were motivated by “centuries of racism.” He also went on to state that he has had to tell his son Dante, who is biracial, that he should never reach for his cellphone when interacting with police because he “might be misinterpreted” as reaching for a gun.
When the racially-stoked rhetoric hit a fever pitch, leading to the execution of two police officers last weekend, de Blasio was snubbed by the force when they turned their backs on him as he entered the hospital to pay his respects.
De Blasio was actually banned from attending the funerals of police officers – the week prior to the assassinations – because he had continually cast the men in blue as racist.
Cross-posted at the Mental Recession