New Yorkers who live near the Hudson River awoke on this sunny post-Christmas morning to a reminder of the miserable tension currently dominating the city: a plane dragging a banner reading, “DE BLASIO, OUR BACKS HAVE TURNED TO YOU.”
The message, an apparent reference to the cops who literally turned their backs on the mayor after Ismaaiyl Brinsley killed police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, seems to suggest that someone affiliated with the NYPD sponsored the stunt. While the owner of the company that flew the sign declined to say who had paid for it, blogger and former cop John Cardillo tweeted that “a coalition of NYPD cops, Detectives, and supervisors hundreds strong” asked him to release this statement once the banner was in the air:
As a large and unified group of current and retired NYC Police Officers, Detectives, & Supervisors, we are outraged by the mayor’s incendiary rhetoric, and for facilitating the current hostile climate towards the NYPD. We understand that the department and even our own unions can only go so far in their public condemnation of the mayor as to not irreparably damage the working relationship with the city, or future contract negotiations.
It is our opinion that Mayor deBlasio’s dangerous and irresponsible comments about his and his wife’s concern for their son’s safety at the hands of the NYPD fueled the flames that led to civil unrest, and potentially to the deaths of PO Wenjian Liu and PO Rafael Ramos, as well as the continued threats against NYPD personnel. The Mayor shows us no respect, and encourages the public to follow his lead.
Mayor deBlasio clearly doesn’t understand nor care that every man and woman of the NYPD would give their life to protect his son, his family, and every other resident of New York City. Tragically, two of our Finest made that ultimate sacrifice days before Christmas.
We no longer have confidence in Mayor deBlasio, nor in his ability to lead New York City and promote the values that both the NYPD and the good law abiding citizens of the city hold dear. Mayor deBlasio turned his back on us long before we turned our backs on him. ”
So we can probably consider this mystery solved.
