NYPD fumes over lack of support from Mayor de Blasio in wake of Eric Garner grand jury decision

By RYAN GORMAN

The NYPD and Mayor Bill de Blasio are at odds after a grand jury decided against indicting a cop for the death of Eric Garner.

Veteran police have privately griped to AOL News about the lack of support from City Hall, and police union leader Pat Lynch last week told officers to use "extreme discretion" in dealing with suspects.

"If we won't get support when we do our jobs, if we're going to get hurt for doing what's right then we're going to do it the way they want it," Lynch told a union gathering last Friday, according to Capital New York.

"Let me be perfectly clear. We will use extreme discretion in every encounter."

A detective with more than 20 years on the force recently made similar comments to AOL News.

"We do not have de Blasio's support, we stand alone," said one officer. "We are at risk simply for doing our jobs."

Lynch, who spoke at a Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA) dinner, also remarked that de Blasio "is not running the city of New York, he thinks he's running a f*****g revolution."

The detective, who spoke to AOL News on condition of anonymity, said that de Blasio ran on a platform of being the people's mayor, but has instead seemingly divided the city.

"He's created two cities, one for the blacks and one for whites," said the officer, who himself is a minority but not African American.

"He claims to be helping minorities, but I don't see it ... [de Blasio] is only helping to further the disconnect between citizens and the police."

Police have previously complained about the end to stop-and-frisk tactics that stats revealed unfairly targeted minorities, but now they feel as if the mayor is against them.

"He's anti-police," said the cop.

Mayor de Blasio has publicly blasted police on numerous occasions, even claiming that he would have to sit down with son Dante de Blasio, who is half-black, to talk about how he interacts with police officers.

"The most absurd part about this whole thing, Dante has had a police detail, two detectives, since his father became Public Advocate (in 2010)," said the detective. "The only interactions he can have with police are the ones guarding him."

Officers have been increasingly resorting to responsive policing instead of the proactive tactics that were the hallmark of Commissioner Ray Kelly under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, de Blasio's three-term predecessor.

The highly-decorated detective complained that rank-and-file officers no longer feel the city has their backs, that they can be sued and de Blasio will "throw them under the bus."

Officers have become increasingly reluctant to even patrol their neighborhoods or beats since last year, when de Blasio was still in the city council.

A PBA memo posted last July in every precinct across the city advised cops "not to initiate any law enforcement action" unless crimes occurred in an officer's presence or a law was perceived to be in danger.

The union warned going against the policy could "subject the officer to legal action."

Lynch claimed the lack of support will lead to vastly different policing tactics.

"If they're not going to support us when we need 'em, we'll embarrass them when we can," said the union head, according to Capital New York, which obtained a recording of the comments.

The mayor's perceived actions against the department have led the police union to ask him to stop attending funerals for fallen officers. No mayor in recent memory has been barred from the memorials.

An AOL News request for further comment from the Mayor's Office has yet to be returned.

Related links:
NYPD tweets 'you can't handle the truth' in apparent nod to civilian deaths
NYC police union wants mayor banned from funerals