One woman’s experience with increased security at a showing of The Butler in Silver Spring, Md. has garnered national attention. But it doesn’t seem that a security presence at popular films at that Regal Cinema location is new.
Organizer Tiffany Flowers expressed her “utter disgust” on Twitter with the police presence at a Saturday evening showing of the Lee Daniels film. She told NBC4 she felt this was racial profiling.
“As soon as we enter the theater we were greeted by an actual police officer who herded traffic in one direction,” Flowers tweeted. “The almost entirely black audience of #TheButler was subjected to watching the film while armed guards faced the audience. Why?”
In response, Russ Nunley, vice president of marketing and communications for Regal, said, “When a theatre experiences sold out showings of any feature, security will assist with crowd control and guest assistance throughout the facility, including auditoriums.”
Indeed, two DCist readers emailed in to say that they’ve experienced increased security at the Silver Spring movie theater and didn’t have an issue with it.
One reader said security was present at a nearly sold-out evening showing of This is the End, a daytime showing of Man of Steel and a nighttime showing of The Heat. The man, who said he’s been racially profiled in the past, said he didn’t feel there was anything “bad or sinister” about the “heightened security.”
Another reader said there was security present at the opening of Iron Man 3 in May. “I’ve seen several blockbuster movies on opening weekend over the past two years I’ve lived in Silver Spring, and the theater has provided actual police officers to assist with keeping order inside the building; especially to control the line waiting to enter the theater and sit down,” the reader said, adding that he was “pleased” with this.
Nunley declined to confirm that there was security at the showings of these films, saying, “Further details regarding our security measures and officer schedules are not discussed publicly, for obvious safety reasons.”
