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   NY Police Commissioner Asks Officers to Refrain From Political Protest at
                                    Funeral

   by VOA News

   New York's police commissioner is asking police officers to refrain
   from political statements at the wake and funeral this weekend for
   Wenjian Liu, one of two officers who was ambushed last month.

   The killing of Liu and Rafael Ramos on December 20, as they sat in
   their patrol car, has laid bare a deep rift between the city's police
   force and the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio.

   The shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, had posted anti-police and
   anti-government messages on Instagram prior to the killing.

   He also suggested he wanted to take revenge for the deaths of Michael
   Brown and Eric Garner, both unarmed black men who died at the hands of
   white police officers. Brown died in Ferguson, Missouri; Garner in New
   York.

   De Blasio has infuriated some police officers by sympathizing with
   protesters who took the streets to demonstrate against Garner's death.

   Last week, hundreds of police attending Ramos' funeral turned their
   backs to a giant TV monitor as de Blasio spoke.

   In a memo read in police roll calls Saturday, however, Commissioner
   William Bratton said "a hero's funeral is about grieving, not
   grievances."

   "I make no threat of discipline," the memo said, but he reminded the
   officers that "when you don the uniform of this department, you are
   bound by the tradition, honor and decency that go with it."

   The New York Times reported Saturday that police union officials have
   encouraged officers to repeat the show of disapproval at Liu's funeral
   Thousands of police officers and mourners are expected at the wake
   Saturday and funeral Sunday.

   The officers' killings happened at a time of increased tension in New
   York and around the United States following decisions by grand juries
   to not indict the police officers involved in the Brown and Garner
   deaths.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/new-york-police-protest/2584390.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/new-york-police-protest/2584390.html