How could they have gotten THAT impression?
Via AP:
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s relationship with police, already strained by accusations he sided with frequent NYPD critic Al Sharpton over the chokehold death of an unarmed suspect, suffered another hit with revelations a top aide is living with a convicted killer who has often mocked officers as “pigs.”
Police unions say it’s only the latest incident that shows the mayor’s lack of support for the 34,000-officer force. And even some de Blasio allies acknowledge the mayor could do a better job of leading the department he is simultaneously trying to reform.
“This is difficult terrain, particularly for a new mayor,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a professor of police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who was on the mayor’s transition team. “Morale has been low on the force and it’s only getting worse.”
Following a pair of mayors who were largely lockstep with the NYPD, de Blasio was viewed suspiciously by police from the beginning with his fierce push to end stop-and-frisk, the crime-fighting tactic that allowed officers to stop anyone they deemed suspicious but a judge ruled sometimes discriminated against minorities.