article_snippet.sent: Their families were joined by Mayor Bill de Blasio at a time when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady relationship with the police department is again coming under scrutiny.
article_snippet.sent: New York Mayor Mayor Bill de Blasio waves
article_snippet.sent: De Blasio's relations with the police unions and some rank-and-file officers were fractured in the aftermath of the December shooting that claimed the lives of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.
article_snippet.sent: De Blasio's relations with the police unions and some rank-and-file officers were murdered on patrol in Brooklyn on December 20 by a crazed gunman who then committed suicide.
article_snippet.sent: Since that crisis, which threatened to overwhelm the mayor's agenda, De Blasio's has taken pains to repair relations with the nation's largest police force, brokering a new union contract, investing in new technology and training, and doubling down on De Blasio's public praise of the department.
article_snippet.sent: The tribute to the NYPD comes as De Blasio's is weighing a City Council proposal to hire 1,000 more police officers.
article_snippet.sent: Though the city's overall crime rate has fallen again, murders are up nearly 12 per cent from this time a year ago, and shootings have also increased, according to NYPD crime statistics.