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During an appearance on CBS’ Face The Nation over the weekend, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said it was “inappropriate” for NYPD officers to turn their backs on the mayor.

The officers, who were attending the funeral of an NYPD officer who was killed last week in a brazen and tragic attack in Brooklyn, were protesting Mayor Bill de Blasio’s response to demonstrators’ own protests against police brutality. Officers in New York, however, have characterized de Blasio’s response to allow the protests to happen as “support.” At the funeral and a press conference shortly after last week’s shooting, officers turned their backs on de Blasio as he spoke to the crowd.

“I certainly don’t support that action yesterday,” Bratton said.

Bratton, realistic about police and community tensions in the city as of late, said the tension between de Blasio and the police department is probably here to stay for a while.

“I think it’s probably a rift that is going to go on for a while longer,” Bratton said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

“The issues go far beyond the race relations in this city. They involve labor contracts. They involve a lot of history in this city that’s really different from some of what’s going on in the country as a whole,” he continued. “There’s a whole series of local issues that are impacting on our ability to move forward.”

Bratton said on “Meet The Press” that police “will be making that effort” to try to repair their relationship with the mayor.

“We have to make that effort,” he said. “We have no other recourse.”

When discussing the relationship between police and black communities, Bratton admitted that there’s “no denying” that some neighborhoods don’t trust the police. The solution? Open conversation “no matter how painful it may be.”

“Their perception is the reality that we have to deal with,” he said of African Americans’ concerns about police. “It has to be part of the dialogue.”

Bratton vowed to be a part of that conversation. We’ll keep you updated with the latest from the NYPD.

SOURCE: Huffington Post | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

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