New Jersey Police Union Joins Tarantino Movie Boycott Over Director's Comments About Police
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New Jersey State Police Patrolmen's Benevolent Association on Wednesday became the latest law enforcement group to announce a boycott of Quentin Tarantino over his comments about police officers.
New Jersey State PBA President Pat Colligan said he was joining with New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Pat Lynch in calling for a boycott of Tarantino movies.
"It is hard not to see the anti-police rhetoric that has been stirred up in the nation over the past year. We don't know if this irresponsible speech led directly to the recent murder of officers around the nation, but Mr. Tarantino should be mindful of the potential dangers that can result from the dangerous rhetoric once it is ingrained in the mind of a person who is willing to harm an officer," Colligan said in a statement.
"Quentin Tarantino needs to understand that as a public figure his voice is one that people listen to. He has an obligation to be more responsible," Colligan continued. "This is not a movie, this is real life where police officers lives are impacted by his words."
On Saturday, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker joined hundreds of demonstrators at Washington Square Park before marching about two miles along Sixth Avenue to protest police brutality nationwide.
"I'm a human being with a conscience,'' said Tarantino, who flew in from California for the event. "And if you believe there's murder going on then you need to rise up and stand up against it. I'm here to say I'm on the side of the murdered.''
Lynch was quick to call for the boycott of Tarantino films.
"It's no surprise that someone who makes a living glorifying crime and violence is a cop-hater, too," Lynch said in a statement. "The police officers that Quentin Tarantino calls 'murderers' aren't living in one of his depraved big screen fantasies -- they're risking and sometimes sacrificing their lives to protect communities from real crime and mayhem. New Yorkers need to send a message to this purveyor of degeneracy that he has no business coming to our city to peddle his slanderous 'Cop Fiction.'"
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton also was not pleased.
"Shame on him, particularly at this time when we are grieving the murder of a New York City police officer," Bratton said Monday during an interview with John Gambling on WNYM-970 AM. "There are no words to describe the contempt I have for him and his comments."
The protest came at a time of heightened awareness nationwide of the oft-contentious relationship between police officers and the people they serve. New York's mayor and police commissioner have said they're serious about enacting smart reforms to build trust between police and communities.
But the protest also was days after 33-year-old NYPD Officer Randolph Holder was shot to death while chasing a fleeing suspect in East Harlem.
The event was the last of three demonstrations the group RiseUpOctober organized in New York last week. Speakers at the Saturday protest said they want to bring justice for people killed by police.
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