New York City’s police union is calling for a boycott of Quentin Tarantino movies after the director blasted officers during a rally against police brutality Saturday — less than a week after an officer was killed by an armed-suspect.
“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,” the “Django Unchained” director told a crowd of protesters in Washington Square Park, saying that cops are too often “murderers.”
The rally came four days after NYPD Officer Randolph Holder was fatally shot in the head while chasing a gunman in East Harlem. When asked about the timing of the rally, Tarantino called it “unfortunate.”
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, said in a statement Sunday to the New York Post, “It’s no surprise that someone who makes a living glorifying crime and violence is a cop-hater, too.
“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,” the statement continued. “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.’ It’s time for a boycott of Quentin Tarantino‘s films.”
Author, activist and scholar Cornel West helped organize Saturday’s rally, which was billed as #RiseUpOctober. Several hundred people attended the gathering.
Ferguson Fallout: The Scene Following Decision Not to Indict Officer Darren Wilson (Photos)
Police officers march by a burning squad car during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Looters run out of a store in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Looters break into a business during unrest in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A protester is surrounded by tear gas in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Firefighters try to extinguish a burning restaurant in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A restaurant is set on fire by protesters in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters kneel with their hands up in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A row of cars is set on fire at a used car lot during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
St. Louis Co. Prosecutor Robert McCulloch announces the grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in Clayton, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri listen to a car radio as the grand jury's decision is delivered on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Heavily armed police officers confront protesters in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
St. Louis County police officers in riot gear guard the Ferguson police department on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A suspected looter is detained outside a Dollar Store in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Police deploy tear gas during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
CNN Reporter Sara Sidner was hit in the head with a rock while covering the Ferguson unrest on Nov. 24, 2014.
CNN
Protesters march in New York City following the grand jury decision in Missouri, Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters march through the streets of New York City after learning Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson would not be charged, Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A woman faces police officers on the Harbor Freeway (110) in Los Angeles during a protest against the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters gather outside a shopping center in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 2014.
Twitter
Protesters in Beverly Hills block traffic at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Dr. in reaction to the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters gather outside the White House after the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Hundreds of protesters, many of them Howard University students, gather outside the White House after the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
President Barack Obama calls for calm during a news conference in Washington, DC after the grand jury's decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump speaks during a press conference about the Ferguson grand jury decision in Dellwood, Missouri on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
A worker cleans up glass at a business that was damaged during a demonstration following the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
Ferguson Mayor James W. Knowles III addresses the delayed deployment of the National Guard at a press conference in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon speaks about the widespread rioting and looting following the Ferguson grand jury decision during a news conference on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
Missouri national guardsmen line up in front of the Ferguson police station on Nov. 25, 2014, ready to be deployed a day after demonstrators caused extensive damage in the city after the grand jury decision.
Getty Images
Police officers secure the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters after protesters pushed over barricades during demonstrations on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
A protester sits in the back of a Los Angles Police Department transport bus in the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 2014, after being arrested at a protest against the Ferguson grand jury decision.
Getty Images
Police arrest a Ferguson protester during the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 2014.
Getty Images
A protester has her eyes flushed after being pepper sprayed by police in Ferguson on Nov. 26, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters turned over a police car during a demonstration on Nov. 25, 2014 in Ferguson.
Getty Images
Lesley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown Jr., attends a press conference in New York City on Nov. 26, 2014 to pray and address the events of the last few days.
Getty Images
Protesters set up barricades and block the 101 freeway in Los Angeles following the Ferguson grand jury decision, during a protest on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
1 of 35
Violence erupts in Ferguson, and protests are held across the country after a grand jury decided Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson would not face criminal charges in the shooting death of Michael Brown
Police officers march by a burning squad car during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.