Police groups in Los Angeles and Philadelphia say they will join officers in New York in boycotting the work of director Quentin Tarantino. The boycotts were announced in response to the Kill Bill director’s recent appearance at an anti-police brutality protest.
“Mr. Tarantino has made a good living through his films, projecting into society at large violence and respect for criminals; he it turns out also hates cops,” said Philadelphia police union president John McNesby in a release announcing the boycott.
In Los Angeles, Craig Lally, president of the Police Protective League said, “We fully support constructive dialogue about how police interact with citizens,” but added “there is no place for inflammatory rhetoric that makes police officers even bigger targets than we already are” in a statement, according to the New York Times.
Tarantino has been facing backlash from police since appearing at the New York rally and decrying some officers as “murderers” just days after a New York policeman was shot in the line of duty.
“When I see murders, I do not stand by . . . I have to call a murder a murder and I have to call the murderers the murderers,” Tarantino said.
The group behind the rally, RiseUpOctober has said the police boycotts are merely an effort to scare protestors “back into silence.”
“It is aimed at sending a message, not just to Tarantino, but to anyone whose voice carries great weight in society,” said Carl Dix, one of the group’s organizers, according to the New York Times.
See Thousands Across The Nation Protest Police Brutality
Thousands of people gather at Washington Square to march through Manhattan to protest police violence on Dec. 13, 2014 in New York City.Cem Ozdel—Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesDemonstrators chant at Freedom Plaza in Washington on Dec. 13, 2014.Jose Luis Magana—APThousands of protestors demonstrate against police brutality in New York City as part of the Millions March on Dec. 13, 2014.Andrew HinderakerThousands of protestors demonstrate against police brutality in New York City as part of the Millions March on Dec. 13, 2014.Andrew HinderakerPeople march in the National March Against Police Violence on Dec. 13, 2014 in New York City. Andrew Burton—Getty ImagesThousands take part in the "Justice for All" march and rally down Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Dec. 13, 2014.Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty ImagesPeople shout slogans against police as they take part in a march against police violence in New York City on Dec. 13, 2014. Eduardo Munoz—Reuters Young boys watch from a seat in a charter bus as demonstrators march along Michigan Avenue to protest police brutality on Dec. 13, 2014 in Chicago.Scott Olson—Getty ImagesThousands of protestors demonstrate against police brutality in new York City on Dec. 13, 2014.John Minchillo—APA police officer looks into the crowd, after he was hit on the leg with paint thrown by protesters during an evening demonstration against police violence in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 13, 2014.Stephen Lam—Reuters Film director Spike Lee, and others, march on Pennsylvania Avenue toward Capitol Hill in Washington, on Dec. 13, 2014.Jose Luis Magana—APLesley McSpadden, mother of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, shot and killed in Ferguson, Mo., in August, helps lead the march on Dec. 13, 2014 in Washington D.C. Chip Somodevilla—Getty ImagesA man holds up a ''Jail Killer Cops' sign during a 'Millions March' demonstration in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 13, 2014.Elijah Nouvelage—Getty ImagesPeople march in the National March Against Police Violence on Dec. 13, 2014 in New York City. Andrew Burton—Getty ImagesThousands of protestors demonstrate against police brutality in New York City as part of the Millions March on Dec. 13, 2014.Andrew Hinderaker
