Nation's largest cop union plans action against 'Hateful Eight' director over remarks about police brutality
By Jon Blistein
November 5, 2015
The nation's largest police union say they are planning a "surprise" for Quentin Tarantino, in response to his comments about police brutality Kena Betancur/Getty Images
"We'll be opportunistic," Pasco said, adding: "Tarantino has made a good living out of violence and surprise. Our offices make a living trying to stop violence, but surprise is not out of the question."
The Hateful Eight director has been embroiled in a back-and-forth with police departments and unions after condemning police brutality and the frequent killings of unarmed civilians — often black men — at the RiseUp October protest in New York's Washington Square Park.
While departments in New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New Jersey have called for boycotts of The Hateful Eight, Pasco said the Washington D.C.-based Fraternal Order of Police — which represents over 330,000 officers — is planning a different kind of action.
"Something is in the works, but the element of surprise is the most important element," he said. "Something could happen anytime between now and [the premiere]. And a lot of it is going to be driven by Tarantino, who is nothing if not predictable."
Though Pasco offered no specifics, he said the the FoP will "try to hurt [Tarantino] in the only way that seems to matter to him, and that's economically."
Pasco went on to deny he was threatening Tarantino, at least physically. "Police officers protect people," he said. "They don't go out to hurt people." (While neither police departments nor unions keep statistics for the number of civilians killed by officers, The Counted, a database organized by The Guardian, places the current number for 2015 at over 960 people.)
Police organizations took particular umbrage with Tarantino's remarks about the lack of action being taken to deter killings and brutality, and his statement, "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."
Amidst the backlash, the director has clarified his remarks on several occasions, telling MSNBC most recently, "I'm not a cop hater," as he's been labeled.
Regarding his initial comments, Tarantino said: "We were at a rally that was dealing with unarmed people – mostly black and brown – who have been shot and killed or beaten or strangled by the police, and I was obviously referring to the people in those types of situations. I was referring to Eric Garner, I was referring to Sam DuBose, I was referring to Antonio Guzman Lopez, I was referring to Tamir Rice ... In those cases in particular that we're talking about, I actually do believe that they were murdered."