WATCH ABOVE: Police officers, politicians, and members of the community observed a moment of silence in New York City today in honor of two police officers murdered over the weekend. Marlie Hall reports.
Thousands in New York held a moment of silence Tuesday to honour the memories of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu who were killed Saturday.
The office of Mayor Bill de Blasio, the FDNY, and the NYPD called on all New Yorkers to observe a moment of silence at 2:47 p.m. ET.
Mayor de Blasio said speaking at City Hall that “there is a lot of pain right now” just before pausing for the moment of silence.
“We have to work our way through that pain. We have to keep working to bring police and community closer together,” he said following the observance.
Ramos and Liu were “assassinated” while sitting in their patrol car by a gunman who said he wanted to kill police officers, said NYPD Commissioner William Bratton told reporters.
The gunman, identified as Ishmaaiyl Brinsley, had posted a message on social media before the shooting that read “I’m Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours, Let’s Take 2 of Theirs.” The post was in reference to the police involved deaths of Eric Garner and 18-year-old Michael Brown.
READ MORE: Police departments on alert after cop killings
The shootings came at a tense time as police across the United States are being criticized following the deaths of Garner, who died in a police chokehold, and Brown, who was fatally shot in Ferguson, Missouri. Thousands of people have taken part in largely peaceful protests against police in recent weeks after grand juries declined to indict the officers involved in the two deaths.
Police associations in both the United States and Canada have both criticized the perceived “anti-police rhetoric” following the deaths, suggesting it could put officers in danger.
New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton spoke with CBS This Morning Tuesday to defend his department and speak about the dangers of policing.
“We’re in a very difficult place at the moment,” Bratton said. “In the sense of officers’ feelings about the demonstrations, about the anti-police mood that seems to be sweeping the country of late, and it’s not easy being a cop in America today, the dangers that still exist despite crime having gone down fairly dramatically over the last 20 years.”
Toronto Police Association President Mike McCormack said Monday that officers around the world are facing “increasingly widespread criticism” and “trial-by-media.”
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of negative police rhetoric that’s going on, stuff that’s been posted on social media, inflammatory comments around policing that really isn’t helping the dialogue or the narrative around policing or any policing issues,” McCormack said during an interview Monday.
New York’s mayor has called on protesters to halt their demonstrations until after the funerals of the two fallen police officers.
A funeral service is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. The White house announced Tuesday afternoon that Vice President Joe Biden will attend the funeral.
*With files from the Associated Press
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