Tarantino Accuses Critics Like OC Deputies Union of Trying to Deflect and Demonize

UPDATE, NOV. 4, 10:25 A.M.: Quentin Tarantino says critics within law enforcement–who include the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs–are trying to “demonize” him with their boycott of his upcoming western The Hateful Eight to try to deflect public attention on police brutality.

]

In his first comments responding to the criticism that has mounted since an Oct. 24 anti-police brutality rally in New York City, Tarantino claimed he never called all cops “murderers” as some have led the public to believe. “I never said that,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I never even implied that.” Though critics who include the Fraternal Order of Police have drawn a connection between a New York police officer who was gunned down shortly before the protest Tarantino joined and comments he made there (see original post), the director swore his remarks were aimed specifically at cops involved in unwarranted shootings. “What they're doing is pretty obvious,” Tarantino reportedly said. “Instead of dealing with the incidents of police brutality that those people were bringing up, instead of examining the problem of police brutality in this country, better they single me out. And their message is very clear. It's to shut me down. It's to discredit me. It is to intimidate me. It is to shut my mouth, and even more important than that, it is to send a message out to any other prominent person that might feel the need to join that side of the argument.” In his particular case, it's not going to work, he vowed.

ORIGINAL POST, NOV. 4, 6 A.M.: The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs joined others in boycotting the upcoming western The Hateful Eight because director Quentin Tarantino “is misinformed,” labeled “law enforcement professionals as murderers” and fanned “the flames of an already heated public discussion,” according to the union's president.

At a police brutality protest in New York City on Oct. 24, Tarantino reportedly told the Associated Press that he was participating because, “I'm a human being with a conscience. 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.”

The statement brought the director of Pulp Fiction, The Reservoir Dogs and Django Unchained cheers from many critical of an apparent rash of police shootings of unarmed citizens.

But it also sparked a backlash from the Fraternal Order of Police, the New York Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Protective, which represents the LAPD rank and file, who announced they will boycott Tarantino's The Hateful Eight that is scheduled to be released on Christmas day.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs had joined the boycott, which prompted the Weekly to contact its president, Tom Dominguez, who responded with this statement when asked to expand on the reasons:

It is deeply disturbing that Mr. Tarantino has chosen to use his position as a public figure to label law enforcement professionals as murderers and fan the flames of an already heated public discussion rather than use his influence to diffuse the rhetoric and support the police officers who pin on the badge to protect law abiding citizens from the evils of this world each and every day.

Police officers have been murdered simply for the badges they wear over their hearts and for doing the job they swore they would do. An orderly society cannot exist without law and order and the men and women who have promised to carry it out while placing their own personal safety at risk.

We cannot allow another officer to be hunted down and murdered by some deranged individual who has bought into the anti-police sentiment being promoted by Mr. Tarantino and a small, misinformed segment of society. We will not tolerate bad police officers. And we will not tolerate the murder of another officer who was just doing his job.

The men and women of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs join the Policemen's Benevolent Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Los Angeles Police Protective League and countless police officers across the nation in boycotting Mr. Tarantino's latest project.

Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *