NYC mayor says he has moved past police crisis

NEW YORK -- Weeks removed from an open revolt from his police force that had officers turning their backs on him, Mayor Bill de Blasio declares he has moved past the rift, striking a tenuous truce with a strategy to stay above the fray and public opinion that soured on the cops' behavior.

While he acknowledged work remains to repair the hard feelings over the chokehold death of Eric Garner, de Blasio said he has regained the footing to move on to other matters, including an agenda he plans to outline in next week's State of the City address.

"It was a perfect storm. It was based on two tragedies. The death of Eric Garner and the murder of these two officers. People felt pain all around," de Blasio said Friday. "I do believe things are much better. I believe the dialogue is moving forward."

It was the biggest crisis of the Democrat's year-old administration. Rank-and-file police already had been distrustful over his plans to reform such enforcement tactics as stop-and-frisk and for his ties to the Rev. Al Sharpton, a police critic.

Those seeds grew early in December when the streets filled with protesters angry over a Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict a police officer for the chokehold death of Garner.

On Dec. 20, two police officers were ambushed by a gunman who said he wanted to "put wings on pigs." The leader of the city's largest police union declared de Blasio had "blood on his hands."

On the night of the slayings, police who gathered at the hospital where the slain officers were taken turned their backs on the mayor, a rebuke caught by television cameras.

Some police officers who had turned their backs on de Blasio at the hospital repeated that at both funerals. The mayor was heckled at a police graduation ceremony.

At the peak of the crisis, Edward Mullins, head of the sergeants union, demanded de Blasio apologize. The mayor refused. But then the momentum shifted.

A Quinnipiac poll showed de Blasio's approval rating held steady during the crisis, numbers that were mirrored in city hall's internal polling. And another poll showed two-thirds of New Yorkers did not approve of the police unions' behavior. Cracks in their front began to show.

Mullins had a private meeting with the mayor mid-month and emerged saying de Blasio was "a gentleman."

"I think the public cared that City Hall stepped back from the debate and respected the families. Some others didn't," de Blasio said, calling the back-turning by some officers "an overstep -- really inappropriate."

Neither Lynch nor Mullins would comment for this story.

Money may also have played a subtle role in brokering peace. Several of the police unions are working on expired contracts and while the PBA is in arbitration, the sergeants union is close to a deal. Also, the City Council announced $7.3 million to purchase new NYPD bulletproof vests, and de Blasio has dedicated additional funding to defend police officers from litigation.

Asked if he had any regrets during the crisis, de Blasio said it was in not moving quickly enough to repudiate the harsh rhetoric of protesters.

"I didn't understand how vile some of the language was," he said. "I wish I had understood better because there's no question in my mind it was unacceptable behavior even if Constitutionally protected."

But while anger has cooled, tensions remain and the crisis could flare again.

"De Blaiso did a good job. He remained steadfast in what he believed," said Joseph Mercurio, a longtime political consultant. "But these police union leaders have long been at odds with mayors. I imagine it will happen again."