Quentin Tarantino’s ongoing feud with the police force has escalated after the executive director of the largest police union in the United States issued a vague threat about a “surprise” they are planning that will “hurt him" - apparently economically.
Tarantino drew the ire of the authorities after attending a march in New York to speak out against police brutality and made several comments about “murderer” policemen.
They since decided to stage a mass-boycott of his films, particularly his upcoming release The Hateful Eight.
Tarantino's protest came days after a New York police officer, Randolph Holder, was shot dead while chasing a bicycle thief. A suspect was later charged with murder and robbery. The timing of the protest, and Tarantino's comments, though not intentionally timed before Holder's funeral, drew criticism for their insensitivity.
But now, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, Jim Pasco, said they have a “surprise” in store for the director.
“Tarantino has made a good living out of violence and surprise,” he says. “Our officers make a living trying to stop violence, but surprise is not out of the question.”
The FOP is based in Washington DC and consists of more than 330,000 full-time officers. Pasco told THR that the surprise is “already in the works” and will be “in addition” to the pre-existing boycott of Tarantino’s films.
“The element of surprise is the most important element,” says Pasco. “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.
“The right time and place will come up and we'll try to hurt him in the only way that seems to matter to him,” he adds.
Pasco did say however that it was not a physical threat.
”Police officers protect people,“ he says. ”They don't go out to hurt people.”
