Police unions call on members to boycott Beyonce's 'anti-cop' Formation tour after Black Panther tribute

Police unions in the US are calling on members to refuse to work patrolling Beyoncé concerts in her new tour after her controversial Super Bowl "Black Lives Matter" performance that also paid tribute to the revolutionary Black Panthers.

"We're not going to put up with her anti-police message," said Javier Ortiz with the Miami Fraternal Order of Police.

"Beyoncé used this year's Super Bowl to divide Americans by promoting the Black Panthers and her anti-police message shows how she does not support law enforcement."

Beyoncé is launching her sold out 16-city Formation world tour on 27 April at Miami's Marlins Park.

Beyoncé gave a taste of her tour during her half-time performance at Super Bowl 50 wearing what appeared to be a bandolier of bullets and backed up by female singers in the Afros, black leather and berets of the Black Panthers.

The day before taking the stage with Coldplay and Bruno Mars at the Super Bowl, Beyoncé released her music video Formation, a powerful song deemed by many a "Black Power" anthem.

The video, shot in New Orleans, features references to Hurricane Katrina and images linked to the "Black Lives Matter" movement, including Beyoncé lying atop a sinking police car, walls emblazoned with "Stop Shooting Us" graffiti, and a young African American boy in a hoodie dancing in front of police officers in riot gear.

The president of Nashville's Fraternal Order of Police said union officials are asking officers "to refuse to support the efforts of artists who promote a false narrative of law enforcement attacks on black citizens." The Tampa, Florida, union has issued a similar statement, Mashable reports.

New York police also complained about Beyoncé's message, but union leaders are not calling for a boycott.

"As a celebrity figure Beyoncé should take greater responsibility in her divisive actions that further complicate relationships between communities of color and the members of law enforcement," said a statement from the New York union.

It's not yet clear how many unions are calling on police not to patrol the concerts, but the movement appears to be growing.

The tension between police and the singer are reminiscent of earlier conflicts between cops and rap stars with anti-police messages in their music, most notably NWA's F--- the Police.

The politically charged message from Beyonce is a dramatic departure from her typical music fare which usually focuses on the thrills and spills of love.

Black Lives Matter activist Erika Totten hailed Beyoncé's new frontier and her message at the Super Bowl.

The message "absolutely belongs in the Super Bowl," Totten told CNN. "Our goal is to disrupt the status quo and bring the message wherever the message may not be heard."

"There's definitely an evolution going on with Beyoncé," Bakari Kitwana, the CEO of Rap Sessions and author of the "Hip-Hop activism in the Obama Era," explained to CNN. "It shows you how smart she is. She's tapping into the same consumer culture that shes always tapped into but shes doing it with some political overtones."

There was no immediate response from Beyoncé to the union calls for a boycott.

Check out Formation, but be warned that the lyrics are explicit.

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