Rudy Giuliani criticizes de Blasio on talk shows; NYPD's Bratton denounces cops' mayoral snub

Rudy Giuliani Sunday said Mayor Bill de Blasio should apologize to the NYPD, while Police Commissioner William Bratton denounced those in blue who turned their backs to the city's chief executive at the funeral for slain Officer Rafael Ramos.

"Mayor de Blasio, please say you're sorry to them for having created a false impression of them," said Giuliani, the two-term former mayor on CBS' "Face the Nation."

He added of de Blasio: "I don't know that he wanted to do it -- he probably didn't -- but he created an impression with the police that he was on the side of the protesters."

Bratton acknowledged that a rift exists between NYPD officers and de Blasio but said the funeral of one of their fallen comrades Saturday in Queens was the wrong place to show their disapproval.

"It was very inappropriate at that event," Bratton said, during his appearance on the CBS news program.

"That funeral was held to honor Officer Ramos, and to bring politics, to bring issues into that event, I think, was very inappropriate, and I do not support it."

Tensions between de Blasio and the police spiked after his comments at a Dec. 3 news conference following a Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict an NYPD officer in the apparent fatal stranglehold last summer of Eric Garner. De Blasio mentioned at the conference how he fears for the safety of his biracial son when dealing with police.

The fatal shootings Dec. 20 of Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who had posted anti-police sentiments and his support for Garner, only underscored the rift. Brinsley killed himself in a Brooklyn subway station after killing the officers.

Giuliani agreed with Bratton that NYPD officers made a mistake when they protested against de Blasio at the Ramos funeral.

But the former mayor echoed police union president Patrick Lynch when he said Sunday that de Blasio showed too much leniency with the thousands of demonstrators who flooded city streets to protest police violence after the Garner verdict.

Giuliani said de Blasio could also encourage a "better relationship" with police officers by severing ties with the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has spent his career rallying against police brutality.

A de Blasio spokesman responded to Giuliani's criticisms by referencing Bratton's defense of the mayor on TV Sunday.

Bratton, who also served as police commissioner under Giuliani, said the current mayor has been "totally supportive" of officers.

In a statement, Lynch thanked people from around the country and the neighborhoods the NYPD patrols for their support.

"Those of us who wear the blue of the NYPD have experienced love, support and respect in many forms from people from all over the nation," said Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

"But none means more to us than the slight smile and nod of the head we have been receiving from New Yorkers as we patrol our city's streets doing the job we love."