Weeks after New York City police officers turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio in an act of protest and defiance, a tenuous truce has been reached between the two powerful city factions.

The tension began almost two months ago when a Staten Island grand jury returned a non-indictment of NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, whose use of a chokehold on 43-year-old Eric Garner led to Garner’s death and widespread community protest amid the fervor of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Following the incident, de Blasio spoke about his own concerns for his mixed-race children – particularly his teenage son, Dante. De Blasio and the police had already long been at odds due to the mayor’s plans to reform stop and frisk enforcement tactics, as well as his friendship with passionate police critic Rev. Al Sharpton.

On December 20, the deaths of two officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, prompted the head of the city’s largest police union to condemn the mayor’s supposed encouragement of anti-police sentiment, going so far as to say that de Blasio had “blood on his hands.” The antagonism reached a head when police officers publically turned their backs on de Blasio during the memorial services for Ramos and Liu, despite the urges of NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton to refrain from doing so. Police also engaged in a strategy of city-wide work slowdown, resulting in a steep drop in arrest numbers.

De Blasio had largely remained silent on the contentious issue, until several polls showed that his approval rating has remained steady while the faith of New York residents in their police force has declined in the past two months. At last count, two-thirds of New Yorkers did not approve of the police unions’ behavior.

Now, the mayor has spoken of more peaceful relations with the NYPD, while still maintaining that their actions were uncalled for. “I think the public cared that City Hall stepped back from the debate and respected the families. Some others didn’t,” he said. “It was a perfect storm. It was based on two tragedies. The death of Eric Garner and the murder of these two officers. People felt pain all around.”

De Blasio has put forward his hopes for a full reconciliation with the NYPD in the future. “I do believe things are much better. I believe the dialogue is moving forward.”