Politics is rough business, and its all local. Whether people here on DU agree or not, the NYPD is popular among most New Yorkers, including liberal Democrats, and its unions are politically powerful and well funded. When NYC mayors engage in battles with the NYPD, they generally lose, often quite badly. DeBlasio does not want to be the next David Dinkins, whose poor leadership and crass identity politics ultimately lead to 8 years of Rudy Giuliani and 12 years of Bloomberg.
DeBlasio is also not a fool. He knows that the funerals of both officers will be an apex of raw emotions, and he probably fears that the more militant protesters, like the ones who actually called for the killing police on the video that is repeatedly played by the press, will try to disrupt the funerals or use them for their own ends. That is how bloody riots begin, and attempts to institute reforms in the NYPD crash and burn. What do you think will be the result if another officer is attacked or killed in the next few days by anyone even remotely connected to any protests?
Lastly, complaints about the First Amendment are little more than unhelpful hyperbole. DeBlasio has not demanded that all protests cease, no less forced to stop by government action. He's simply using his own free speech rights to suggest it would be in everyone's interest to let emotions calm, at least until after the funerals. Such comments are hardly outlandish or proactive, and appear to me to be good advice.
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