NY Police Officers turn their back on NY Mayor Bill de Blasio at funeral for slain Brooklyn cop Wenjian Liu Sunday Jan 04,2015

Thousands of police turned their backs Sunday Jan 04,2015 as Mayor Bill de Blasio eulogized an officer shot dead with his partner, repeating a stinging display of scorn for the mayor despite entreaties to put anger aside.

The show of disrespect came outside the funeral home where Officer Wenjian Liu was remembered as an incarnation of the American dream: a man who had emigrated from China at age 12 and devoted himself to helping others in his adopted country. 

The gesture among officers watching the mayor's speech on a screen added to tensions between the mayor and rank-and-file police even as he sought to quiet them.

'Let us move forward by strengthening the bonds that unite us, and let us work together to attain peace,' Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the funeral

A sea of police from across the country arrive to the funeral of Officer Wenjian Liu on Sunday in Brooklyn

 

Mayor Bill de Blasio arrives to the Brooklyn funeral of slain NYPD officer Wenjian Liu on Sunday

 

New York Police Department officers carry the casket of their fellow officer Wenjian Liu during the funeral

The streets of Brooklyn were lined with officers saluting the hearse as it made its way to the burial site

Widow Pei Xia Chen cried throughout the procession, holding a picture of her deceased husband