More Chants Against Police As Protesters Break Mayor's Moratorium
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some protest organizers have dismissed Mayor Bill de Blasio's request for a "time out" until after murdered NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu are laid to rest.
In fact, hundreds of protesters took to the streets early Tuesday evening, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported.
Ralliers marched on Fifth Avenue chanting "How do you spell murderers? NYPD!" and "Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail. The whole damn system is guilty as hell," Aiello reported.
"This is my city and you don't tell me when to stay home, OK. We canceling Christmas" said one protester. "(You didn't like the mayor's request for a pause in the protesting?) Pandering! Pandering!"
The protests were peaceful, but saw the return of ugly language directed at cops.
Officers ignored the invective and marched along with stoic faces, black bands on their shields in honor of Liu and Ramos.
As WCBS 880's Ginny Kosola reported, others were also spontaneously showing their support for the police.
As a group of police officers followed the demonstrators, some people on the street burst into applause for the cops.
One man shook his head at the protesters and said to the police "You don't deserve this," Kosola reported.
While Some Protest Despite Cop Deaths, Others Applaud NYPD
Earlier in the day, protest organizers spoke in front of flags flying at half-staff with words of sorrow for the slain patrolmen, but they offered a harsh rejection of the mayor's call for a moratorium on protests.
"There's been no moratorium on the police murdering our people!" organizer Travis Morales said.
"You got no right to tell us when, how and whether we can protest," organizer Carl Dix added.
It's a challenge from the far left for Mayor de Blasio. He is dealing with the biggest crisis of his first year as mayor, according to political scientist Doug Muzzio.
"I think he's got a meaningful feeling of hurt for the city, communities, and the cops, but his intemperate remarks often undermine it. His attack on the media for example," Muzzio said.
The mayor recently told the media, "What are you guys going to do? Are you going to keep dividing us?"
On Monday the mayor dropped his dignified demeanor after Aiello asked about the ugly chants heard at a protest, which included "NYPD KKK" and "How do you spell racist? NYPD."
Media coverage of the protests has been troubling to de Blasio. The mayor has insisted reporters are cherry-picking ugly elements to drive conflict.
"The few who want conflict attempt that and, unfortunately, so many times, you guys enable that," de Blasio said.
But the hateful language directed at cops has been heard at even some of the most peaceful of the protests, raising the question: Is the mayor out of touch with what's happening on the streets?
"If those are the facts, he's unaware of the facts on the ground and that's dangerous," Muzzio said.
Ahead of the protest, Aiello asked protest organizers if chants comparing the NYPD to the KKK will continue.
"My question would be: What is it about those chants that's not true?" Morales said.
On Monday the mayor called the chants hurtful, hateful and immoral, but the protesters Aiello spoke to said they intend to continue using them.
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