Police Protested Outside Beyoncé’s Hometown Concert In Houston
On May 7, a police group stood in silent protest against Beyoncé outside her Formation World Tour hometown concert in Houston. Members of Coalition of Police and Sheriffs, or C.O.P.S. for short, stood a mile away from NRG Stadium, shining a blue light toward the venue.
“Some of her performances we believe to be anti-police,” member Tony Ragsdale said to local TV station KHOU11. He was almost certainly talking about Beyoncé’s “Formation” video and Super Bowl 50 halftime performance. In the former, Beyoncé sinks with a New Orleans police cruiser in flood waters — a surreal baptism scene. In the latter, she and her backup dancers dressed as Black Panthers.
C.O.P.S. members had protested with posters featuring Captain America, as portrayed by Chris Evans in the Marvel film trilogy. (The third movie of that series, Captain America: Civil War, premiered May 6.) They did this despite statements that Beyoncé made after “Formation”‘s release.
“I have so much admiration and respect for officers and the families of the officers who sacrifice themselves to keeps us safe,” she said to Elle last month. “But let’s be clear: I am against police brutality and injustice. Those are two separate things.”
Meanwhile, as ABC-13 reports, the Houston Police Officers Union decided not to participate in the protest. “From the initial release of the video, I think it’s been blown out of proportion,” said union vice president Doug Griffith. “I think at the end of the day most people understand [Beyoncé] has no problem with law enforcement.”
See Houston-based coverage of the police protest below.
Police group holding protest event near Beyoncé concert. Will shine a bright blue light toward NRG Stadium. pic.twitter.com/EIdErqVvmo
— Tim Wetzel (@KHOUTim) May 8, 2016
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