Force turns its back on Blaz, again
THE POLICE union is back at it with Mayor de Blasio.
Several hundred cops turned away in protest Tuesday morning as the mayor delivered his eulogy at the Bronx funeral of slain Officer Miosotis Familia.
The blue rage was spurred by the mayor’s excursion to Germany to join protesters at the G-20 summit one day after last Wednesday’s execution of 12-year NYPD vet Familia.
Photos showed hundreds of police officers standing on the Grand Concourse with their backs to the World Changers Church as the mayor’s speech was heard via the public address system.
“The mayor is the compass for the City of New York,” Patrick Lynch, head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, said before the funeral. “And unfortunately, when a police officer got killed, his compass led him to Germany rather than here on the Grand Concourse.
“He should have been here with the family . . . . He should have been there with us.”
Early in the mayor’s tenure, hundreds of officers turned their backs on de Blasio at the funerals for NYPD partners Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were slain in December 2014. Union officials complained at the time the mayor was not supportive of the Finest.
A mayoral spokesman said Tuesday’s protest involved only a small number of cops.
“A couple dozen people showed up to partake in a bogus controversy ginned up by the media and those looking to politicize Detective Familia's death,” Austin Finan said.
“That’s unfortunate. The mayor, police commissioner and thousands of police officers from the city and beyond attended today’s service . . . to pay their respects and honor Miosotis Familia.”
Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said he was not surprised by the public display of disgust.
“The atmosphere with the mayor and the police is definitely strained,” he said.
“I talked with hundreds of cops today and they have about had it with the mayor and the police commissioner and their policies. They don’t feel that either one of them has their backs.”