Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Shepard Smith Reporting 20141222

Policemen of the weekend. Investigators say this is the killer. He indicated on social media he was out for revenge for the deaths of eric garner and Michael Brown and as you know, they were two black when whose deaths at the hands of Police Officers in recent months have sparked protests across america. Those protests were mostly peaceful here in new york city, but some demonstrators took their antipolice message to the extreme. Watch. [chanting] what do we want. Dead cops, when do we want it . Now. That disturbing chant happened a week before the gunman executed the two Police Officers here. Now the head of the police union is blaming new york citys mayor for the killing after he met with protesters, despite the call for dead officers and the fact that at least five officers have been assaulted during the protests. The union is accusing the mayor of showing more support for the antipolice movement than for the police force. Today mayor de~blasio called for a temporary stop to the protests and any talk of politics. Ask that any organizations that were planning events or gatherings that are about politics and protests, that could be for another day. Lets accompany these families on their difficult journey, see them through the funerals. That was a short time ago. The mayor could have trouble winning the trust of officers and many citizens for that matter. Even before the shootings there was a petition telling the mayor he is not welcome at Police Funerals if they die on the job, and in a sign of the bad blood between the police and city hall, the city leaders,ing this video shows officers turning their backs on mayor de~blasio when he arrived at the hospital where the two officers died over the weekend. David lee miller is live in brooklyn. What did the mayor just say . One of the key things the mayor said, quoting him now, is we as citizens have an obligation to protect police. This was the first time that we heard from mayor de~blasio since the shooting incident took place on saturday. So, this was very significant. He made his remarks before the Police Athletic lead in midtown, manhattan, and went ton say the protesters must turn in anyone in their midst who might do harm. Before speaking, the mayor said he paid a visit to the homes of the two officers who were slain and then he went on to describe the anguish of the families. Theyre suffering. Theyre suffering an unspeakable pain right now. Its impressive when somehow people can put on a brave face, in the conversations we had you can tell theres a lot of fear what the future will hold. Reporter just a few moments ago we heard from the office of the attorney general, eric holder, his office saying that steps are being taken now to expedite the death benefits to the families of those two slain officers, those death benefits, harris, are administered by the justice department. I understand were also hearing today from the family of eric garner, who i mentioned earlier died during an nypd arrest. Reporter thats right, harris. Minutes before the mayors remarks, one of the daughters of eric garner came here to offer her condolences. She said that her father was a peaceful man. Her father, eric garner, died after he was alsoly put in a chokehold by a new York City Police officer. Demonstrations took place when a grand jury failed to indict. His daughter said that her dad was not violent, and violence should not be used in his name. Listen. My father wasnt a violent man. He was very peaceful. Theres ways you can do things without letting tragedy happen. We can get our voices heard. We can do what we need to do, but we just violence is not the answer. Going to pan over. Just to set the scene here a little bit for you, harris, it has started to rain near brooklyn, and Police Officers are now on hand. They are erecting some type of a temporary structure. You can see it here. That is going to be used to protect the makeshift memorial behind me. Throughout the day, harris, a great number of people have come here to offer their condolences, they are from all types of ethnic, religious, and racial backgrounds. One woman put it this way. She said she marched against Police Brutality, and she is here now to stand against brutality to the police. As we watch that scene, we remind everybody and its my understanding, david lee, this was the first time publicly the mayor had said anything directly in terms of publicly giving condolences to the two families and now he has met in his meeting with the families of the fallen officers. President obama said he is outraged by what he called, quote, the senseless murders of the officers. He released a statement from hawaii where he and he first family are on vacation. Shannon has more on the white house reaction. Shannon, the president did make a statement. Why is he still taking heel at this point . He made a written statement. The white house says he also made critical calls, including to new York City Police commissioner William Bratton after the trajectory murder of the officers, offering the full support of the administration and also emphasized a need to condemn those who would use violence as a way to protest. But with the country reeling from the news of these officers executionstyle murders, many are calling for the president to take a break, as he has done during previous vacations, to speak on camera to the american people, feeling it would be helpful for the president to offer condolences and reassurances. The president has often weighed in in the aftermath of heated events or controversies but does not look like he will do that on camera. Im reading on blogs and hearing it, the criticism for president obama for what he did say. Yeah. These are some past comments that folks are reporting. He along with others, including attorney general eric holder and the new york city mayor, have openly questioned Police Procedures and announced investigations into Police Departments. Rudy giuliani says that has had an impact in his opinion. If you want to say that mayor de~blasio contributed to an atmosphere of hate for the police, absolutely he did. But so did the president of the United States, and so did holder. Today the justice departments number two said it is possible to have both conversations at once. On the one hand how police need to improve on their behalf and also ocean shores that violence from protesters is never acceptable. Harris. Shannon, thank you very much. The mayor of new york city wanted a little insight after the protests over the death of eric garner so he told staffers to dig up similar cases that happened in new york to see how city officials handled them. And one of those of cases, amadou diallo, four Police Officers shot and killed him 16 years ago, apparently mistaking him for a rape suspect and thought he was pulling a gun on them. It was his wallet. The case led to protesting across his mom, Kadiatou Diallo is here with us. Thank you for being here. My first question is, we continue to see developments in the story unfolding. We just heard from the mayor. Were expecting him to meet with the commissioner and that will be a public event as well. But i am curious to get your thoughts at this point. Thank you for having me. Of course. My heart is broken for the loss of these two officers. It was horrific event. As the mother of amadou diallo, my condolences to the families. I just want to say, what are we going to do about this situation now . It is my interest to really lend my voice to these situations. And i want to address to those individual who were protesting peacefully, it was good thing. But for those who are thinking about taking their guns and killing innocent people, including Police Officers, as the mother of amadou diallo, who suffered a terrible loss, many people would have think that i have hatred and desire for revenge, but in my heart i have no hatred, and i have no desire for vengeance. So, i want to send a message to them. That you can take your anger and your frustration, turn it into something positive. And do something that can bring people together. That actually is what i understand your message nor mayor, because you i heard you said it feels like were going backwards, you have a message for the mayor. What is it . This is bigger than the mayor, bigger than all of us as a community, and Law Enforcement community. We need to come together and be one community. Speak one voice, and be united more than ever now, is the time to call to action for everybody to play their role so that we can have a healing and peace and justice with peace. Social justice, legal justice. Nonviolent. That my calling. However this turns out, what i hear youre saying, too is its important that we go forward together. I know that you said this. My question for you now is, how this is kind of come together . We have just learn that the mayor for the first time publicly has given his condolences to the families and just now meeting with the families. This happened two days ago. I know you suffered a loss. Im curious if you could just maybe compare how the city has responded now and how they need 1999. I think when my son was killed in 1999, all communities came together, all religion, all races came together and this is what need to happen. It was happening before because i protested in washington recently, and many people are protesting peacefully, but for those who are thinking about turning their anger into violence, they need to think. If we as survivors or victims of Police Brutality can heal and ask the city to heal and come together and do something positive, this is the message im sending, not only to the mayor but everyone because its bigger than politic and bigger than ever. Its for a humanity. We need to come together. I know just a couple of moments ago you expressed your condolences to the families of the two fallen Police Officers. What would you say to their moms, families, wives, children . That i feel their pain, because i dont care who you are, whether youre a Police Officer or just civilian, minding your own business, you dont deserve to be killed. And those who are working hard to serve and protect are doing a very difficult job. We understand that. This is why i said i feel for them and since searly feel for that sincerely feel for that and also i want to add to respect and honor the memory of amadou, my son, and eric garner and all those people who were unjustly killed. People need to understand violence is not going to solve the problem. Interesting. Have people been kind of surprised by some of your comments . I know you have written about it, talked about it. Just in terms of your support for the Police Officers who were tasked with doing a big jobespecially now. I think that my message is for all of all the humanity, entire humanity, and because their message is my calling, and because of my son, who cannot speak today, and the personality that kind of life he led, his spirituality and his humanity, i think this translates to my words and i think i have admission. This is a mission of the Mamadou Diallo foundation, to continue to speak firmly about legal justice but nonviolence. Thank you. Im sorry for you loss. I appreciate your time today. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. More on the growing tension now in new york city. Well talk with a former nypd inspector and how Major Police Departments around the nation now are on high alert. I mentioned they were wearing bulletproof vests. That is still ahead. Stay with us. Also, the north korean government has apparently released a new set of threats against the United States, including specific targets for a possible attack. And this comes as u. S. Officials are blaming kim jonguns regime for that cyber attack on sony. Breaking minutes ago, were hearing reports that north koreas internet has gone dark. This is brand new. Did the United States take the north korean Propaganda Machine off line . What the pentagon is saying. Coming up from the fox news deck now. Dont go away. De blasio. And its de blasio we are hearing that north koreas Internet Service has completely gone dark and a cyber attack may have caused the outage, according to the Associated Press and the New York Times. Fox news cannot independently confirm this. Meanwhile, north korea is stepping up threats after president obama says the secretive regime was behind the Cyber Attacks on Sony Pictures. North korean officials are threatening to attack the white house and says president obama is spreading rumor, the president is considering placing north korea back on the terror list but in an interview yesterday he said it wasnt an act of war him called it cyber vandalism. This comes after sony scrapped the Christmas Day release of the interview that movie depicts the killing of north korean dictator kim jongun, and president obama is vacationing in hawaii with the first tamly. Lets go there now. Dan springer is live in honolulu. What are we hearing about the internet outage . Were hearing that on friday, the Internet Service in north korea got very shaky and then it went completely dark today, and theres a lot of speculation, of course, that eUnited States might be behind that. Were getting nothing from the white house. In fact, president obama has had a very low profile since arriving here in hawaii. He has done nothing on camera me and white house has no response for the latest threat that came in from north korea. Came from the north Korean National Defense Commission and said our toughes counteraction will be boldly taken against the white house, the pentagon, and the whole u. S. Mainland, by far surpassing the counteraction declared by obama. North korea denied it had anything to do with the cyber attack on sony and offered to conduct a joint investigation with the u. S. Today the state department ignored the offer and says it stands by the accusation against north korea. The government of north korea has a long history of denying responsibility for destructive and provocative actions and if they want to help theyed admit their culpability and compensate sony for the damages they caused. That compensation would be 70 million. Thats how much money sony put out to produce and promote the film in question. You know, dan there has been some criticism for the president not calling this what it is, senator john mccain said its not vandalism. What is the latest from republicans . Well, thats exactly right. Some people say that he has not had a response that has been quick enough or Strong Enough and that word that he used, cyber vandalism, is at the heart of this accusation. Heres senator marco rubio yesterday. North korea is going to be a growing problem for the foreseeable future. You have a person running the country that is me. Ly is memory mentally unstable. The state department it will not discuss weighed it would respond to the attack by north korea. Some well see, some we woken, perhaps we have seen it here with the internet going down in north korea but no confirmation, nothing out of white house here in hawaii. Dan springer, thank you very much. I a former cia covert Operations Officer and the assistant managing editor othe wall street journal will join us and im going to ask since the white house has not done anything we know of yet, how should we respond to north korea but a very Interesting Development with the enter neat. The United Nations Security Council is now deciding whether to try kim jongun in International Court for crimes against his own people. Things hitting up a bit today on north korea. Well get to all of it. Stay with us. Fox urgent now. More on todays United Nations Security Council i apologize theyre holding a meeting on what is being called Grave Human Rights Violations inside north korea and this is the first of its kind like this. 15member council, including north koreas ally china as well as the United States, u. K. , and russia and others. Theyre debating whether to try kim jongun in International Court for crimes against humanity. In february, a u. N. Report described crimes including murder, enslavement, rape and torture. A human rights investigator said there were many parallels win the evidence he heard and the crimes nazis committed in world war ii. North korea refused to attend todays Security Council meeting. No shocker there earlier this year north korea leaders released their own report claiming popular masses enjoy genuine human rights. Lets bring in stuart holliday, former u. S. Ambassador for special Political Affairs at the u. N. Currently the ceo of Meridian International center. Good to see you. This story is coming together, im trying to gather this. So you have heard lets start with the breaking news. Turning the internet off in north korea. Who might have done that . Is this something the United States could do . Would we be willing to do it . Well, i think you heard the president said there would be a response. We certainly have the capability to do it, and its something north korea only has four portals to the internet. We have 150,000. Its not hard to do. But its a major statement effectively that the United States and the community of nations wont tolerate this kind of wanton cyberterrorrism. You know, lets fast forward now to this meeting set to happen in five minutes from now or so. Its unprecedented that countries would get together like this. Talk to me about china and its role . Because theyre buddies with north korea. So what are you really accomplishing in a meeting like this . This is a big deal for two reasons. One is its the first time a human rights issue really has been brought into the Security Council. This is the forum that typically debates peacekeeping, nonproliferation. Now this is about human rights but a broader story about ten members of the Security Council deciding that this has gone too far. There are 200,000 people in camps. Millions of people starving. This rises to the level of responsibility of the duty to protect and happens again, perhaps coincidentally, as this cyber back and forth is going on, but its a long unfolding story which china really has been i wont say complicit in but been allowing to tapes, and if they allow this meeting to go forward, which theyll do, its a big deal because it means that china as well, even though theyre going to have to defend north korea, theyre getting to realize that this is more of a nuisance. You talk about the coincidence and the timing. I heard you say there are no coincidences. You thoughts how quickly this has come together with regard to north korea. Well, the Security Council action would have been planned for some time. This is something which has been on the agenda, and it reflects the longstanding concern the International Community has. The fact that this north korea has been knocked offline is, i think, more of a reflection on the rapidly up folding events unfolding events and an effort to deal with a rogue nation that is hurting its own people, and really must be addressed in the context of the u. N. And bilaterally with the u. S. So interesting. So now i guess my mind races to, would they have done this, north korea to take the attention of what was coming up in the meeting at the u. N. . You never know. Theres the movie wag the dog. I dont know theyre theyre very much of a cult of personality. In fact this movie was coming out which was depicting the assassination of kim jongun, probably got his attention, and in their minds, theres no difference between the government and the private sector, the movie industry. They see this all as a u. S. Conspiracy. Stuart holliday, thank you very much. We appreciate your time and expertise. Thank you. Now back to the story where we started fox top story, the nypd reportedly investigating more than a dozen threats of copycat attacks now, after the killings of those two Police Officers in brooklyn over the weekend. Were expecting the new york city mayor and Police Commissioner to speak live soon. Well bring in a former new York Police Inspector to talk about all of is all it as the news breaks. Stay close. You may think you can put off checking out your Medicare Options until youre sixtyfive, but now is a good time to get the ball rolling. Keep in mind, medicare only covers about eighty percent of part b medical costs. The rest is up to you. Thats where aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plans insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company come in. Like all standardized Medicare Supplement insurance plans, they could help pay some of what medicare doesnt, saving you in outofpocket medical costs. Youve learned that taking informed steps along the way really makes a difference later. Thats what it means to go long™. Call now and request this free [decision guide]. Its full of information on medicare and the range of aarp Medicare Supplement plans to choose from based on your needs and budget. All plans like these let you choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients, and there are no network restrictions. Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company has over thirty Years Experience and the commitment to roll along with you, keeping you on course. So call now and discover how an aarp Medicare Supplement plan could go long™ for you. These are the only Medicare Supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an Organization Serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. Plus, nine out of ten plan members surveyed say they would recommend their plan to a friend. Remember, medicare doesnt cover everything. The rest is up to you. Call now, request your free [decision guide] and start gathering the information you need to help you keep rolling with confidence. Go long™. Russian workers say at least 20 people are dead after a car bomb blue up in a bus station. One official says the victims were, quote, burned beyond recognition. Happened in the city and eastern part of the country. No word on who was behind the attack but officials blamed similar bombings in nigeria on the terror group, boca haram. A dozen people hurt after lightning hit a parking lot outside of Tampa Bay Buccaneers stadium. Happened yesterday. Witnesses described hearing a deafening boom. One man says lightning struck near his suv, shattering the sun roof. Most of the victims in stable condition. Retail association expects Holiday Spending to grow, americans spending 600 billion over the holidays. New continues right after this. Shes still the one for you. And cialis for daily use helps you be Ready Anytime the moment is right. Cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. Side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. To avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30tablet trial. I dont know my credit score. Thats really important. I mean i dont know my credit score. Dont you want to buy a house. Like, ever . You should probably check out credit karma, its free. Credit . Karma . Free . Credit karma. Really free credit scores. Lets update fox top story now and the nation on edge after the coldhearted executioned of two new york city Police Officers. Investigators say the gunman was inspired by the antipolice demonstrations we have seen break out across the country and say he had a long rap sheet and showed hatred for police. Now major departments coast to coast are warning their officers to be careful, they, too, could have targets on their backs. Were waiting for the News Conference to begin in new york city here, the mayor, the Police Commissioner will be live. Well take their comments as they make news there. But first, joining me here at the fox news deck, former nypd inspector, jose cadero. He founded a security group. To have you here. Thank you for having me. A lot of fastbreaking develops. I want to start off with how we protect our officers across the country. Understand many of them already wear vests. Where are we in terms of how we change things . I think theyre going to break up routines. Youll see that officers more officers will respond to routine events. You also see an increased tactical consciousness. Officers be a lot more careful, and youll see they are going to take time to become aware of their environment. You know, jose, i have to imagine this is particularly difficult for police to in new york city, already mourning two of their own gone now, and now having to not only prepare in a different way, as you just talked about, but to deal with those emotions as welch whats it like for the police force as they good forward . Theyve been down some tough roads before. I think theres a great deal of pain right now. For the loss of the two officers. Theres a lot of disappointment in what has happened and what led or at least contributed to these events, this anticop mentality it seems to be sweeping throughout the country, newelled part by folks in leadership positions that have unfairly targeted policing, and Police Officers. So i think they are confused, hurt, and, quite frankly, i think its now circle the wagons. What do we need to do to protect ourselves . Jose, on social media im seeing well, harris, why are we not hearing from the perspective of those who are survivors . As detectives, what you do is so dangerous and i want to get inside your head for a moment, what Police Officers are thinking as this plays out . There will be the politics, this and that. What is the core issue for police . I think they most Police Officers want to do their job. These are almost impossible conditions. Why . Well in part because if you do your job, and you have an outcome that is not what should be and thing does happen in policing that youre not going to be supported. They also have to be concerned not just with the typical dangers of policing or everyday dangers, but whether they may have a target on their back. So there is a lot of confusion right now. I think youll see a lot let engagement on the side of the Police Officers and of people who will suffer most or those folks living in communities that need the police the most. Before i let you go, i want to press in on that. Because we do need police, and many of our communities, as you just pointed out, some more than others. So what needs to happen now . Do you see the president getting involved in we see him weigh into issues . I want to build a Bigger Picture because theres been so much rhetoric. What needs to happen . I think there has to be a an attempt serious attempt to bridge this divide. I think that emotions are high right now. I think that have to begin with an honest dialogue and admission that some of the things that were said were out of line, that they are in fact supported, not just talk about support but in fact supported. And i think that needs to start sooner rather than later. Down in west philly where they had their own issues between the citizenry and Police Departments in one neighborhood we saw today graffiti that said, basically, in terms of the black lives matter, that whole protest, cops lives dont. And when you see that, its heartbreaking. Puts a target on peoples backs. But are you concern about this reverberating across the country now from new york . Yes, i am. And to a large extent, as you know, this is all rhetoric, but some folks, such as this individual, with a long criminal history, and potentially mental problems, will soak it up like a sponge and act on it, and thats the real danger here throughout the country. Thank you for coming in, we appreciate your time. Well be watching that News Conference as it comes together between new york city mayor and the Police Commissioner. Im looking at the big wall. Nor now on the fox urgent from earlier. The Associated Press reporting north koreas Internet Service has gone completely dark. Im seeing some of you on social media saying, if with did this, dont say anything, dont tell them it was us. We dont know. The New York Times newspaper also is reporting a cyber attack may be to blame. All comes after president obama and other u. S. Officials said north korea was behind the cyber attack on Sony Pictures. Mike baker is a former cia covert Operations Officer. Hell join us by satellite, obviously, and john bussey is assistant managing editor here at the wall street journal. Ryle start with the reporting, john. That do you have . Our Cyber Security reporter, based in san francisco, says that north koreas internet is basically down, but who knows why that is . Was it a u. S. Cyber attack . A coward counterattack . The North Koreans turning it off. Thes . They dont want even the tiny elite, who have access to the internet, tiny portion of the population, they dont want them knowing what is going on with sony and other issues around the world. They can flip it off. Or is it china . China telecoms is the company through which the internet it routed for north korea. They say, we get it, and they flipped the switch. We dont know. Have another thought, question, if you will, mike baker. The United States right now in an unprecedented fashion is looking at Human Rights Violations in north korea, and trying to decide if theyre going to try dictator kim jongun. Would north korea have turned off the own internet so their people couldnt see whats going on inside of the United Nations. The internet going dark in north korea has to be a Big Inconvenience for the four people in north korea who have internet access. I dope think it was that. Just as like ily that the North Koreans did the themselves as preventive measure, following up on the white house statement on the. So right now its all just speculation. The idea that perhaps the chinese might have been assisting us. There are no greater perpetrators of state sponsored cyber crimes, cyber espionage, than the chinese. They pour vast amounts of resources into it. Theyre poking and testing our infrastructure every day in major way. So asking the chinese for support, for help in this regard, is kind of like asking the fox to guard the henhouse. Quickly before i come back to john here on set. I want to get your thoughts on something that was kind of coming together this weekend. The president calling what happened to Sony Pictures cyber vandalism versus cyber terrorism. Senator john mccain and others are saying you have to call this what it is, an act of war, cyber bomb. Your thoughts. Well, we always get wrapped around the semantics, whether its this or the idea of a lonewolf attack or terrorism. We have had a struggle over the past several years as to how to respond when we do have a major incident, and this is the most public situation we have had. We have had a real problem in understanding how do we classify this . Calling it an act of war when youre talking about cyber terror is difficult because of the the difficulty niping it down. Its not like saying this country fired a missile. The able to reroute and distract and obfuscate from an attack makes it difficult to identify the perpetrator. John, i said on our program that what north korea managed to do with Sony Pictures was basically practice because as mike is pointing out, and other people have said, you can poke us and figure out our weaknesses and do damage that doesnt have anything to do with movies. Thats a really good point. Were approvalling they have been inside the sony system for some time, looking for vulnerabilities. This i one issue the u. S. Has to consider when it considers the array of possibilities of some kind of counteraction against north korea. To turn off the lights in pyongyang . So what. N if your opponent can turn off the lyings in new york. You have to be careful about the response. Sony meanwhile i had a discussion with a sony exec on friday. Sony is looking at this and saying they have been sort of way overblamed for pulling this movie. They said theres not been a lot of companies that have come to it support, mostly because they are just as concern about getting the type of hack that shut down the sony network, and caused it all sorts of economic grief. You havent seen support for sony. John of the wall street journal good, to see you. Mike, former cia covert op, thank you for your expertise this afternoon. News breaks on this we may bring you guys back. Were watch fog the new york city mayor News Conference with the Police Commissioner. When it starts well bring you news from there stay with us. You total your brand new car. Nobodys hurt,but there will still be pain. It comes when your Insurance Company says theyll only pay threequarters of what it takes to replace it. What are you supposed to do, drive threequarters of a car . Now if you had a Liberty Mutual new car replacement, youd get your whole car back. I guess they dont want you driving around on three wheels. Smart. New car replacement is just one of the features that come standard with a base Liberty Mutual policy. And for drivers with accident forgivness,rates wont go up due to your first accident. Learn more by calling switch to Liberty Mutual and you can save up to 423. For a free quote today,call Liberty Mutual insurance at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. Fox top story and this is breaking wide open right now. Were watching cameras and this whole thing come together here in new york city with the new york city Mayor Holding a News Conference with new york Police Commissioner William Bratton. Lets talk about the politics of this. They are definitely at play. Kaitlin burns is a reporter with real clear politics. Com. Kaitlin, thank you very much for coming in. So the mayor is really walking a tightrope right now. He made some comments that put him on the opposite side of the aisle with the Police Department that has to protect us all. We have new years eve coming up, millions of people in our city, we need our officers. Where is he now politically. A really tough issue for him politically. No mayor of a big city, especially new york, wants to be at oddded with the police force. The tensions between this particular mayor and the police force have been welldocumented throughout his campaign. Opponents are saying that he ran kind of against the commissioner, against police policies, pushing four reforms, but the way he tide so, opponents say, has encouraged a particularly tense time. And he has done something that we have seen the president do as well, when Trayvon Martin lost his life in florida, the president said, that could have been me. And now with mayor de blasio in recent days, he said i tell my biracial child, whose mother is black to watch out for Police Officers. But he injected his own personal experiences in a very divisive way. He has invoked his son on a couple of different occasions. During the campaign and then we saw in recent days with this, opponents are saying that has kind of encouraged or come off and perceived as kind of this antipolice rhetoric. And these times the city is especially charged this was a horrific, horrific act of violence, and this is not a position this mayor wants to be in. Kaitlin, at real clear politics im curious to see what youre write about the narrative, it would appear that those on the left are writing about race and racial politics. Were looking at a couple of different views. First, this is an issue that while new york is at the center of it right now, this is kind of a National Issue that we have been talking about for a while. I think in Congress Next year youll see some legislation brought up. The new York State Legislature is coming back into session in january, and Governor Cuomo said today he is going to encourage some legislation there. Theres talk of bulletproofing police cars, to helping families of slain officers, and so there are a lot of different debates going on right now. All different sided of the spectrum weighing in. In new york, this is a very difficult issue for him. Do you think that narrative backfired on democrats . I was watching governor como say today we need a cooling off period. Its has been the left side of the aisle mostly with very vocal voices coming out and speaking with so much rhetoric since the summer. You mentioned this really fine line that politicians are trying to or that especially the mayor has been trying to walk and hasnt really necessarily done that great of a job at it. Talking about the police force in a positive way, talking about the good theyve done for communities. While also pushing for reforms. So he is kind of straddling that line. Do you think he has done that . Has he talked along those lines to support the police . I think some of his comments in recent days, especially after the garner case, have led people to believe that he is not. All right. Now, what were watching is that the mayor, bill de blasio, just pulled up to the lectern, and William Bratton, the commissioner, is also. Listen. The chief of detectives for the city of new york Police Department, rob boyce, leading the investigation into the mothered of our two Police Officers. Chief of principal, alice gomez, and chief of deposit, jimmy oneill. To my right is first Deputy Commissioner ben tonguer and ben tucker and the mayor of the city. What we want to do the mayor and i had the opportunity for the second time to meet with the families of our two officers. We had met with them at the hospital the night the officers were brought there after having been shot, and then this morning we spent some time with them at their residences. So he will speak among other things specifically to those meetings this morning. Additionally, that would like to share with you the update on the investigation of the chief. A full briefing yesterday with the detectives who are conducting the investigation, and this morning we had an hour and a half briefing, including reviewing the many videos that have been gathered as part of the investigation. Want to take this opportunity to compliment the detectives of this department and specifically those working this investigation. The incredible amount of work they have put into this case, the retrieval of significant amounts of video. The ability to track the whereabouts of this individual, literally minute boy minute and not area well be looking for additional assistance from the public. We have some gaps as to his activity in terms of his time near new york city, and were going to look for specific help in trying to close those gaps. Id also like to speak to funeral arrangements that have now been made for officer ramos, and those Funeral Services will be as follows. On friday, december 26th, from 2 00 to 9 00 there will be services, viewing services, at the Christ Tabernacle Church at 6434 myrtle avenue in glendale, new york, and that, again, will be from 1400, 2 00 in the afternoon to 9 00 in the evening. Funeral services will be held on saturday, december 27th, beginning at 10 00 in the morning. Location will be the Christ Tabernacle Church at 6434 myrtle avenue, glendale, new york. And we will be putting out notices on our messaging as to our colleagued around the country, many of whom have been planning to taped these services. I received i cannot begin to describe the condolence messages ive been receiving from colleagues around the country and were very, very grateful for those. What id like to do at this point in time is ask the mayor to come up and share with you both our experience this morning with the families, and other issues he would like to speak with you about at this time. Mr. Mayor. Thank you very minute. Thank you, commissioner. Thank you for your leadership in what has been a very difficult time for our city. We appreciate you have been stead fast throughout. A very painful journey for everyone to go from the hospital, where the commissioner and i and so many others went to see our fallen officers, prayed over them, met the Family Members. You can only imagine what a Family Member is going through at that moment, where their lives have suddenly been made unimaginable. Everything that they thought and believed would be a part of their lives is suddenly gone. And that night was painful for all of us. I know a lot of people standing around me have been part of many nights like that. Something you can never get used to, trying to console families who have lost so much. We followed that today by going out to each familys home. First the ramos family and then the liu family and theyre in tremendous pain, and they are worried deeply, the ramos familys case two teenagers, reminding me of my own children, who now dont have a father. The family is extraordinary, the ramos family. Theyre close knit, warm, large family, nationally that really family that really believes, a strong christian faith, strong sense of family, strongly believe in public service. Officer ramos was extraordinarily proud to be a member of the nypd, and all of that is giving the ramos family some ability to find strength in the middle of this pain. Still you have two teenaged young men, good young men, who no longer have a father because of an assassin, and it was very difficult for us to talk to two kids that of course we saw the parallel to our own children, and hear them trying to put on a brave face, trying their best to make sense of such a painful situation. They were incredibly admirable, impressive young men. I told them that i lost my own dad when i was 18, and that as painful and difficult as it is, families come together, people find a way forward, and i also told them we would all be there for them. At the nypd family would be there for them and the people of new york city and the family of new york would be there for them. And we will be. We win to see the liu family, this family is feeling such a profound fear for a their parent. This was their only son. They feel disdistraught that so much of what they lived for is gone. His wife of only two months, i cant tell you how pantoufle talk to a young woman who had just begun this beginning of a whole new life, looking forward to building a family, and now her husband is gone in an instant. Again, they found strength in the other Family Members who are there, and i want to thank the nypd and our colleagues in the federal government who are doing a fantastic job working to get other Family Members from china back so they can be of support to the lius at this incredibly difficult time. We just let them know also that they were part of a large are family now that we would stand by them throughout. All i can say this is a time for every new yorker to think about these families. Focus on these families, put them first. We can do that by respecting their pain, respecting their time of mourning. Im asking everyone, across the spectrum, to put aside protests, put aside demonstrations, until these funerals are passed. Lets focus just on these families and what they have lost. I think thats the right way to try and build towards a more unified and decent city. I also think its important to recognize we cant let these tragedies happen in the future. Whenever we have the power to do something about it. I said some days back that anyone who knows of any effort to harm a Police Officer needs to report it to the police immediately, needs to intervene personally in any way they can. This is another example, once this very troubled individual, career criminal, a troubled individual clearly deeply emotionally troubled past, once this individual posted on facebook his intentions, anyone who sees that has the obligation to call the police immediately and report it. We cannot take anything lightly. We always say we have learn as a society because of tragedies like 9 11 and everything since, we learned if you see something, say something. Ive seen with my own eyes new yorkers quickly run to a Police Officer and point out a bag left unattended and thats good and important but this is another thing we have to do now in a social media age. Any statement suggesting violence towards the police need to be reported to the police. So we can stop future tragedies. That is our obligation. The attack on these two officers, the assassination of these two officers was an attack on the city of new york as a whole, on every one of us, on our values and democracy. We cannot tolerate such attacks. Anyone with the ablity to help us stop them must step forward. So i just ask everyone in the season that is supposed to be a season of understanding and joy, remember the meaning of the season and put these families first. Commissioner. In reference to the liu family, that we are working to bring Family Members from china, and once the Family Members arrive here, the liu family will be in a position to work on arrangements for the Funeral Services for their loved one. In terms of the issues that we have been dealing with and facing, ive had the opportunity today to talk with the leadership of all five of our Police Unions in line with what the mayor has referenced, asking that demonstrations and other forms of protest be put on hold until after the Christmas Holidays and after these funerals, that in discussions with the five president s of our unions bz they have also, if you will, standing down in respect for our fallen members until after the funerals and then we can