BEVERLY HILLS : Police to Take Rap Song Protest to Shareholders

Police groups from around the country prepared to take their campaign against rapper Ice-T’s “Cop Killer” song directly to Time Warner Inc. shareholders today, after senior company officials on Wednesday rebuffed the latest effort to stop the song’s distribution.

“They won’t give in. We won’t give up,” said Memphis Police Lt. Brenda Maples, president of the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, after an hourlong meeting with Time Warner executives Martin D. Payson and Tod R. Hullin.

Other police groups have urged a boycott of Time Warner products unless the media giant stops selling the “Body Count” album. Critics claim that two songs--”Cop Killer” and “Smoked Pork”--encourage violence against police.

A Time Warner spokesman described Wednesday’s meeting with police representatives as “constructive” but said the company would continue selling the album, which it has defended on free-speech grounds.