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NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's police commissioner is calling for a "lot less rhetoric and a lot more dialogue" to defuse the tension between police officers and the population they protect.
A day after the funeral of one of two police officers gunned down in their patrol car, Commissioner William Bratton tells NBC's "Meet The Press" the "pent-up frustrations" that have caused people to take to the streets in recent weeks go far beyond policing policies across the nation. He says it's about "continuing poverty rates, the continuing growing disparity between the wealthy and the poor" and about unemployment.
Bratton says rank-and-file officers and much of America's police leadership feels under attack, including "from the federal government at the highest levels" following demonstrations over police killings of unarmed black men.
Bratton acknowledges that morale among NYPD officers is low, but says it was "inappropriate" for officers to make a political display at Officer Rafael Ramos' funeral by turning their back on Mayor Bill de Blasio.
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131-a-10-(New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, in interview)-"was very inappropriate"-New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says he was not pleased that some officers turned their backs on the mayor in a sign of disrespect as he spoke at an officer's funeral. COURTESY: CBS' 'Face the Nation' ((mandatory on-air credit)) (28 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *131 (12/28/14)££ 00:10 "was very inappropriate"
130-a-04-(New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, in interview)-"this department"-New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says has spent a lot of time with the New York City Mayor, who has done many good things for the police department. COURTESY: CBS' 'Face the Nation' ((mandatory on-air credit)) (28 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *130 (12/28/14)££ 00:04 "this department"
129-w-36-(Shelley Adler, AP correspondent with NYC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton)--Tension between police and the mayor of New York was one subject covered during the Sunday talk shows. AP correspondent Shelley Adler reports. (28 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *129 (12/28/14)££ 00:36
120-a-13-(New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, in interview)-"to be addressed"-New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says the tensions between the minority communities and the police is about much larger issues. COURTESY: NBC's 'Meet the Press' ((mandatory on-air credit)) (28 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *120 (12/28/14)££ 00:13 "to be addressed"
117-a-06-(New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, in interview)-"lot more dialogue"-New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says it will take time, but New York City can overcome the tension between minority communities and the police. COURTESY: NBC's 'Meet the Press' ((mandatory on-air credit)) (28 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *117 (12/28/14)££ 00:06 "lot more dialogue"
118-a-09-(New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, in interview)-"in these instances"-New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says the police have showed remarkable restraint during the recent protests. COURTESY: NBC's 'Meet the Press' ((mandatory on-air credit)) (28 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *118 (12/28/14)££ 00:09 "in these instances"
APPHOTO NYCR121: ADDS FLAG IS THAT OF THE NYPD - The body of New York City police officer Rafael Ramos is brought from Christ Tabernacle Church draped in an NYPD flag after his funeral in the Glendale section of Queens, where he was a church member, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014, in New York. Ramos and his partner, officer Wenjian Liu, were killed Dec. 20 as they sat in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street. The shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, later killed himself. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) (27 Dec 2014)
<<APPHOTO NYCR121 (12/27/14)££
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