The 25-year-old from Long Island was shot in the head on Saturday night. He died from his injuries on Monday making him the third NYPD officer to be killed in the line of duty in five months.
When NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Moore's death during a news conference, de Blasio did not join him.While de Blasio did visit Moore's family at the hospital in the hours after the shooting, he did not participate in the news conference as has become common practice by mayors.
When asked by Fox 5 News reporter Linda Schmidt why he wasn't there, de Blasio had this to say:
"The extended family of the NYPD will say that today is a day for the members of the NYPD to be together. It was not a place, in my view, for elected officials," said de Blasio.
Hizzoner had continued with his scheduled appearances on Monday including a tech conference in midtown Manhattan at Noon. The announcement about Moore's death was made at 2 p.m.
When pressed by Schmidt about why he wouldn't have been at the hospital as the leader of the city, de Blasio defended his decision.
"I have been honored to stand by them in good times and in bad and I've done it many times and in I've done it in a way that was appropriate and in constant consultation with the department," said de Blasio.
"It was on my advice that the mayor did not come to the hospital because of the uncertainty of the circumstances in the morning. It was uncertain if the man was going to pass," said Bratton.
Tensions between the mayor and the NYPD became strained last year. Many officers even turned their backs to de Blasio when he arrived a the hospital where two officers died after being ambushed.
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