Not even an order from New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton for police officers attending the funeral of slain NYC police officer Wenjian Liu to show restraint could hide what city cops feel about Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Like what many did during the funeral last week of Rafael Ramos, thousands of cops again turned their backs when the mayor's face was seen on the large screen to deliver his eulogy for Liu on Sunday. It was to show their disappointment with de Blasio's perceived anti-police sentiment amid the furor sparked by the deaths of unarmed black men in the hands of white officers.

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Most of those who were positioned in front faced de Blasio, but those at the middle to the back rows had their backs on the mayor.

Patrick Lynch, head of the biggest police union, defended the action of the officers. "They feel that City Hall has turned their back on them and they have a right to have their opinion heart and they did it respectfully in the street, not inside the church," Reuters quotes Lynch.

The gunning of Liu and Ramos were seen as a continuation of the anti-police sentiment as the two were seated inside their squad car when the gunman, who had boasted about killing pigs in social media, shot them pointblank on Dec 20.

Aware of the animosity between him and the city cops, de Blasio used the eulogy to extend an olive branch.

"New York has been from its earliest das a most tolerant of cities ... but there have always been times when that harmony has been challenged," de Blasio said.

"Let us rededicate ourselves to those great New York traditions of mutual understanding and living in harmony," he added.

Meanwhile, Edward Mullins, president of the sergeants' union decried the order from Bratton which he considers an insult because it indicates that police officers are not entitled to express themselves and just made de Blasio "look weaker than he is," reports the New York Times.

The mourners who showed up for the funeral of Liu, believed to be the first Chinese-American co slain while on duty, is estimated at 25,000 people or about the same number as those who attended Ramos's funeral a week earlier. Many of them were Asians.

Ramos was buried a week ahead because some of Liu's relatives traveled from China. After the formal police ceremony, the family of Liu followed it with a private traditional Chinese rite featuring incense and offerings.

Tagsanti-police sentiment, NYPD, Bill de Blasio