A high-ranking member of the Fraternal Order of Police has told reporters that members of his organization have a “surprise” waiting for director Quentin Tarantino, as a response to recent comments the director made at a rally against police brutality. Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, the organization’s executive director, Jim Pasco, said, “Something is in the works, but the element of surprise is the most important element,” and that the response could come at any time between now and the release of the director’s new movie, The Hateful Eight. (The FOP has previously pledged—along with a number of prominent police unions—to boycott the film, and refused to work on any projects Tarantino is involved in.)
Declaring the group’s intent to be “opportunistic,” Pasco went on to say, “Tarantino has made a good living out of violence and surprise. Our officers make a living trying to stop violence, but surprise is not out of the question.” The pronouncement came not long after Tarantino—who told an Associated Press reporter at the New York-set rally that, “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”—clarified his statements, asserting both that, “All cops are not murderers. I never said that. I never even implied that,” and that the police response has been intended to silence other prominent voices from speaking out against alleged abuses. (Tarantino will presumably address the issue again on Friday night’s episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, on which he’s expected to guest.)
Pasco made it clear that his group’s intent is to hit Tarantino in his pocketbook, presumably by protesting in some way against the Christmas Day release of The Hateful Eight. “The right time and place will come up,” the former ATF media liasion told reporters. “And we’ll try to hurt him in the only way that seems to matter to him, and that’s economically.”