Mayor de Blasio Calls for Suspension of Protests

Mayor Bill de Blasio called for protesters to suspend demonstrations in the aftermath of the killing of two New York City police officers, who were gunned down on Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn as they sat in their patrol car.

“It’s time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in due time,” Mr. de Blasio said during a speech Monday afternoon. “That can be for another day."

The mayor’s call came a few hours after the police commissioner, William J. Bratton, said that the killing of the officers was a “direct spinoff of this issue” of the protests that have roiled the nation in recent weeks.

The protests were born of frustration that blacks are not treated fairly in the criminal justice system but have often focused broadly on police officers.