New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio received criticism on Sunday for abandoning his position and going to Germany as the city mourned NYPD officer Miosotis Familia, who was assassinated Wednesday.
President of the NYPD sergeants union Ed Mullins said that anti-cop tensions have reached a "boiling point" and the mayor has done nothing to calm them, according to the New York Post.
"We are not seeing any kind of leadership that comes out and explains … that the police are not your enemy; the police are not killing African Americans," Mullins said.
De Blasio flew to Hamburg a day after Familia's shooting to be a keynote speaker at a "human rights and democracy" rally and attend a reception for the G-20 summit. Mullins expected the mayor to have stayed in New York and done more to address the tragedy.
Familia was gunned down while sitting in a police vehicle in the Bronx by a man who was arrested in 2001 for beating a police officer with brass knuckles.
"[Police] assassinations are very difficult to stop but what we can do to make a difference is kill the atmosphere that has been created across this country and in the city of New York," Mullins said. "We have a very anti-police atmosphere that is based on inaccurate facts and lies."
"New York City is right now mourning the loss of a police officer who was dedicated to the City of New York, and we have a mayor who has just gone to Germany to join protesters," Mullins said.