Takeover Magazine 1st issue april 15th 2016 | Page 11

Cops Refuse to Work Beyoncé Concerts Because Speaking Out Against
Killer Cops is ‘Anti-Police’
In response to the controversial Super Bowl halftime show featuring Beyoncé and others, the
Miami Fraternal Order of Police has voted to boycott her upcoming concerts while calling on
other cops across the country to participate in their tantrum. The police union is also urging
officers not to provide security at her shows despite the fact that multiple law enforcement
agencies routinely assign officers to large concerts.
Although he admitted he did not bother watching the Super Bowl halftime show, Javier
Ortiz, president of Miami Fraternal Order of Police, recently released a statement
confirming, “The Miami Fraternal Order of Police has voted to have all law enforcement
officers boycott Beyoncé’s concert which is being held at the Miami Marlins Stadium on
Wednesday, April 26, 2016. The fact that Beyoncé used this year’s Super Bowl to divide
Americans by promoting the Black Panthers and her antipolice message shows how she does
not support law enforcement.”
Ortiz added, “We ask all law enforcement labor organizations to join our boycott across the
country and to boycott all of her concerts.”
Instead of watching her halftime show performance, Ortiz claims he “mistakenly” viewed the
new music video to her song “Formation.” As Beyoncé sings atop a sinking New Orleans
Police Department (NOPD) patrol car, a child dances in front of a row of cops dressed in riot
gear. Written on the wall in graffiti are the words: “Stop shooting us.”+
According to spokesmen with the Miami Police Department and Tampa Police Department,
officers are expected to fully staff her upcoming concerts despite the police union’s recent vote
to boycott her shows. Maj. Delrish Moss, a spokesman for the Miami Police Department, told
HuffPost, “Right now the union president has his First Amendment right to say whatever he
wants to say, but that doesn’t always translate to reality. As far as we see, there’s no
indication that anything that is said there will translate into police officers not working the
job.”
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