It doesn't seem that NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is going to make any effort to reign in the disrespectful behavior we've seen from the union head Patrick Lynch toward New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio any time soon after listening to his comments on this Sunday's Meet the Press.
The rift between the New York City Police Department and Mayor Bill de Blasio will not be easily solved and will require more discussion and time, according to the city's top cop.
"I think it's probably a rift that is going to go on for a while longer," said NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, appearing on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. "However, we will be making efforts to sit down and talk with the union leaders in particular to deal with their issues."
"The issues go far beyond race relations in this city," he told host Chuck Todd, citing labor disputes and the city's history of police and community disputes.
Todd read a portion of Michael Tomasky's article at The Daily Beast and asked him to respond.
The NY Police Union’s Vile War with Mayor De Blasio:
And Pat Lynch, by speaking of officers’ blood on the steps of City Hall and urging his cops to sign an online petition that de Blasio not attend their funerals should they be killed in the line of duty, is doing... what? His behavior is divisive to the point of savagery. He is actively trying to make the people who follow him not only despise de Blasio but despise and oppose any acknowledgement that police can be faulted in any way, that black fear of police has any basis in reality. If Al Sharpton did the same with regard to police departments tout suite, which he does not anymore—he denounced the murder of the two cops immediately—he’d be drummed out of society.
Bratton of course refused to go after Lynch:
Bratton declined to criticize PBA head Pat Lynch, whose statements that de Blasio had “blood on his hands” greatly escalated tensions following last weekend’s ambush-style shooting of two NYPD officers.
“It is unfortunate that we have at this time when we’ve had such great success in dealing with crime in New York City over the last 21 years, at a time when the city is effectively booming in so many ways, that we have these pent-up frustrations,” Bratton said. “This isn’t just about policing. This is about larger issues. We’re the tip of the iceberg.”