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Tampa Police Refuse to Work at Beyoncé Concert

It looks like Beyoncé’s halftime show is still causing an uproar, as Tampa police officers recently expressed no interest in working at her Formation World Tour stop in the city. The perceived anti-police message of the “Formation” music video and her Super Bowl performance seems to be the culprit, the Washington Times reported. Some police forces are taking extreme measures by boycotting Queen Bey entirely, like this Miami Fraternal Order of Police officer who took to Twitter to show his solidarity against the issue.


Although some officers are making quite clear that they want nothing to do with the performance, Steve Hegarty, a spokesman for the Tampa Police Department told the Times: “We’re going to staff it because we have a responsibility to do that regardless of how controversial it might be, who the artist might be or the politician might be…This is a couple of months away, so we’ve still got plenty of time to fill those slots.”

Typically, when officers are not on regular duty, they will work overtime at sporting events or concerts. The concert is supposedly already sold out—typical for Bey—so if no Tampa officials are present, chaos could erupt. There is no word yet on whether or not the Tampa police department will be taken off their scheduled shifts to work the venue or if some off-duty officers will be forced to work the concert, Tampa’s Fox 13 News reports.

 

 

Ally Meyerowitz is a junior at San Diego State University. She is currently trying to pursue a degree in Journalism with an Italian language minor. She is a Jersey girl born and raised, and she will always be a Jersey girl at heart. When she's not scrolling endlessly through her Instagram and Facebook feeds, you can usually find her watching movies, hanging out with friends or eating chocolate. After college, she hopes to become an entertainment editor at a major publication in New York City.