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“Reacher” star Alan Ritchson sparred with a police organization and trashed Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., on social media this week after being called out for recently claiming that “cops get away with murder all the time.”
Ritchson, who also stars in the new film “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” ripped the National Fraternal Order of Police on Instagram Tuesday for its “emotionally immature response” to his charged comments in a Hollywood Reporter interview.
During that interview published earlier this month, Ritchson was asked about an Instagram photo of him in 2020 that depicted the actor wearing a T-shirt that read, “Arrest the cops that killed Breonna Taylor.”
Alan Ritchson responded to the backlash he got after saying cops “get away with murder all the time.” (Getty Images)
The action star told the outlet that the recently resurfaced photo represented his perspective that police brutality is common in America.
“Cops get away with murder all the time, and the fact that we can’t really hold them accountable for their improprieties is disturbing to me. We should completely reform the way that we do it,” he declared, adding, “I mean, you shouldn’t have to spend more time getting an education as a hairstylist than as a cop who’s armed with a deadly weapon.”
During the same interview, Ritchson also trashed Christian supporters of former President Trump, stating, “Trump is a rapist and a con man, and yet the entire Christian church seems to treat him like he’s their poster child and it’s unreal. I don’t understand it.”
On April 12, the police organization slammed Ritchson’s post.
On its Facebook page, the group wrote, “While Mr. Alan Ritchson gets his face and forehead powdered on set, our officers are out doing a job he doesn’t have the courage to do. While he gets to hear loud pops and have blanks fired at him, our officers feel the heat of the bullets as they pierce their skin. There are no take two’s or take three’s in real life Mr. Ritchson.”
The post concluded by calling Ritchson “another useless Hollywood actor, virtue signaling for attention at the expense of brave police officers around this country,” and told him to “Go back to your pampered life and let the heroes handle this.”
Ritchson fired back with a long post on Instagram, Tuesday, which suggested that the group’s attack on him shows that law enforcement can’t calmly handle interactions with the public.
“This kind of emotionally immature response is the epitome of what concerns me about law enforcement today. If this is how leadership handles a peaceful disagreement, what does life look like for those unseen interactions in the street?” he stated.
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Alan Ritchson attends Los Angeles Special Screening Of Prime Video Series “Reacher” Season 2 at Culver Theater on December 13, 2023, in Culver City, California. (Frazer Harrison/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
As the movie star’s post continued, he touted his own bravery for speaking out on the issue: “You belittle me for being incapable of demonstrating bravery, but I believe that’s exactly what I’ve shown. You’ve haplessly fired multiple shots at me simply because I have called for more accountability. I did this knowing people like you who crave a pat on the back and zero accountability would criticize me.”
He went on to mention that there are plenty of “good and brave cops who deserve the public’s gratitude,” as well as “rogue or ill-equipped officers who remind us that we need higher barriers to entry and stricter regulations so abuses are relegated to the past.”
For added measure, he slammed DeSantis for policies that enable these rogue cops, stating, “To make matters worse, in Florida, voters perpetuate these issues by continuing to support people like Gov. Desantis who just passed a law making it illegal for anyone other than the police to police themselves.”
DeSantis signed two bills into state law last Friday: HB 601 and SB 184. The first will prevent investigations of local law enforcement by civilian review boards and the second will criminalize harassing or impeding law enforcement officers and first responders.
In his post, Ritchson trashed the bills, adding, “I’m certain efforts like these take us further from the world I hope to leave for my children, which is one with extreme prudence when deciding who we arm and a glass house for public institutions. Especially ones with the ability to end lives.”
Ritchson’s reps did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
