At a press conference this afternoon, Mayor de Blasio asked activists protesting the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown to put their demonstrations on hold until after this weekend, when Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu—the two NYPD officers shot to death on Saturday—will be buried.

"It's important that regardless of people's viewpoints that everyone step back," de Blasio said. "It's a time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in all due time."

"Our first obligation is to respect these families," he added. "Our first obligation is to stand by them in every way we can. And I call upon everyone to focus on these families in these next days

The mayor also took issue with the media, blaming reporters for highlighting the small groups of protestors calling for or supporting violence.

Police commissioner Bill Bratton admitted that some NYPD officers—and their unions—had lost faith in the mayor, though he defended their actions as standard.

Bratton also confirmed reports that Ismaaiyl Brinsley—the man who killed Ramos and Liu—attended an Eric Garner protest in New York City.

[Image via AP]