The Slatest

New York Mayor De Blasio Booed During Police Academy Graduation Speech

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks to the New York City Police Academy graduating class.

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s tense relationship with the city police force was again on display Monday afternoon when he addressed recent graduates at a police academy graduation ceremony. Many in the NYPD and police unions are upset with recent remarks by the mayor that they percieve as a lack of support for the police force. Over the weekend, de Blasio got a chilly reception from the city’s police officers, who turned their backs on the mayor when he spoke at the funeral of one of the officers killed by a gunman in Brooklyn last week.

As of Monday, the police department’s mood hadn’t improved much. Here’s more from ABC News:

De Blasio presided over the graduation today of the nearly 900 cadets at a ceremony in Madison Square Garden. Boos and catcalls cascaded down upon the mayor when he was introduced. There was a smattering of polite applause. At one point de Blasio told the cadets, “You didn’t create problems,” and someone in the crowd shouted audibly “No, you did!” The recruits were stoic.

“Some of the department has been in open revolt against the mayor over his comments and actions since a grand jury declined on Dec. 3 to charge the officer whose chokehold killed an unarmed black man, Eric Garner,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. de Blasio encouraged demonstrators who protested the grand jury decision, saying, ‘Anyone who believes in the values of this country should feel called to action right now.’ And he said that he has often spoken to his biracial son about ‘dangers he may face’ in interactions with the police.”