Police commissioner calls officers’ protest at funeral “very inappropriate.”

NEW YORK — William J. Bratton, the New York City police commissioner, said Sunday that a silent protest by scores of his officers who turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio as he spoke during a funeral service for a fellow officer killed in the line of duty was “very inappropriate.”

Bratton said he did not support the actions of the officers on Satur- day, who turned away from a screen showing the mayor speaking inside a church in Queens where hundreds had gathered to mourn Officer Rafael Ramos, shot and killed along with his partner, Wenjian Liu, on Dec. 20.

“I certainly don’t support that action yesterday. I think it was very inappropriate at that event,” said Bratton, speaking on the CBS program “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “To bring politics or to bring issues into that event, I think, was very inappropriate, and I do not support it. He is the mayor of New York. He is there representing the citizens of New York to express their remorse and their regret at that death. It was very inappropriate.”

Bratton added: “At the same time, it is reflective unfortunately of the feelings of some of our officers at this juncture.”

Despite the often raw emotions expressed privately at police funerals, several officials said the public protest by officers at what is a highly ordered and solemn occasion appeared to have little recent precedent. It followed days of heated rhetoric from union officials, including the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Patrick J. Lynch, who laid blame for officers deaths squarely on de Blasio, saying he had “blood on the hands.”