NYPD chief: 'A hero's funeral is about grieving, not grievance'

New York Police Commissioner William Bratton sent a memo to the city's officers on Friday, asking that they show respect toward Mayor Bill de Blasio at Saturday's wake and Sunday's funeral for slain officer Wenjian Liu.

"I remind you that when you don the uniform of this department, you are bound by the tradition, honor, and decency that go with it," Bratton wrote in the memo, reported by USA Today. "A hero's funeral is about grieving, not grievance."

Bratton did not go into specifics about some of the officers' actions at the Dec. 27 funeral of Liu's partner, Rafael Ramos. There, hundreds out of the thousands of gathered officers turned their backs toward de Blasio. But, Bratton did say that the act "stole the valor, honor, and attention that rightfully belonged to the memory of Detective Rafael Ramos' life and sacrifice."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"That was not the intent, I know," Bratton added. "But it was a result."

Mayor de Blasio is scheduled to give Liu's eulogy on Sunday.