Pittsburgh police officers planning to boycott Beyonce concert at Heinz Field

[don-o]

Pittsburgh police officers planning to boycott Beyonce concert at Heinz Field

UPDATED 11:06 PM EDT May 20, 2016

http://www.wtae.com/news/pittsburgh-police-officers-to-boycott-beyonce-concert/39648104

 

PITTSBURGH —City police officers who believe Beyonce is anti-police are planning to boycott the singer's May 31 concert at Heinz Field, and the union said it will file a labor complaint if the city forces them to work the secondary employment.

    Some police officers are planning to refuse to work the Beyonce concert May 31 at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh's Action News 4 reporter Marcie Cipriani asked Police Chief Cameron McLay about it on Friday.   

FOP President Robert Swartzwelder said Friday that he is not taking a position on Beyonce, and the union is not calling for a boycott; rather, officers are posting on the FOP website saying that no one should work the show.

[Bill Cipher]

Why?

[don-o]

Why?

See source.

[mountaineer]

Police union calls for law enforcement labor to boycott Beyonce's world tour
By Carma Hassan, Gregory Krieg and Melonyce McAfee, CNN
Updated 8:38 PM ET, Sat February 20, 2016

Support for a national law enforcement boycott of Beyonce's world tour appears to be picking up steam, even as critics dismiss the action as unnecessary.

Beyonce gets political at Super Bowl, pays tribute to 'Black Lives Matter'

The Miami Fraternal Order of Police urged the boycott Thursday ahead of the tour's April launch at Marlins Park. But backlash against Beyonce started almost immediately after the superstar singer's release of her controversial "Formation" music video and Super Bowl 50 halftime show performance earlier this month.

Critics have objected to the #BlackLivesMatter themes in both, and specifically to her backup dancers at the halftime performance being outfitted in Black Panther-like costumes.

In one portion of the music video, a young African-American boy wearing a hoodie dances before a line of police officers wearing riot gear before the words "Stop Shooting Us" appear in graffiti on a wall.

"To taint police officers globally in the Super Bowl is really wrong," said Sgt. Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association in New York City.

Mullins said the boycott, which he supports, would involve officers refusing to work paid off-duty security for the event, not refusing to perform regular law enforcement duties.    ...

Rest of story

[mountaineer]

The liberal Pittsburgh Post-Gazette weighs in:

To serve and object: Pittsburgh police and the Beyonce factor
May 24, 2016 12:00 AM
By the Editorial Board

Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay said Sunday that a sufficient number of police officers have volunteered to work next Tuesday’s Beyonce concert at Heinz Field. That reflects well on Pittsburgh, but the issue should never have been in doubt.

Beyonce may be one of the nation’s top performers, but the superstar is unpopular among some police officers because of what they view as anti-law enforcement sentiment in her music and performances. Her Super Bowl halftime performance in February included costumes reminiscent of the Black Panthers. The video for her latest song, “Formation,” includes allusions to the Black Lives Matter movement and the words “Stop Shooting Us.” She has said that she respects police officers but has no patience with police brutality.

Police officers, both individually and collectively, have every right to criticize Beyonce. But in some cities, police have threatened to boycott her concerts. In Pittsburgh, there was a question last week as to whether enough officers would volunteer for the overtime details needed to provide adequate security. On Sunday, Chief McLay said enough officers had volunteered for the extra work and that no officers would be forced to work the concert, except for those assigned to traffic details near Heinz Field.

Pittsburgh police regularly supplement their salaries by moonlighting for concerts and other special events. The city relies on this moonlighting — the official term is “secondary details” — to meet security needs without sacrificing regular patrols or mandating overtime, an issue that rankles the police union. If this arrangement is good for one act, it should be good for all of them. The performer’s politics shouldn’t matter.

As in other cities, there is mistrust between Pittsburgh police and residents in minority neighborhoods. A police boycott of Beyonce would be no way to mend fences.

The opposite is true. A larger-than-needed complement of officers, black and white, should volunteer to work the Beyonce concert to show that public safety is the No. 1 priority and that Pittsburgh police will discharge their duty faithfully no matter who requires their service.

[Millee]

Good for them.  She can afford private security.