Though A Christmas
Story is set in a fictional town that is supposed to resemble Hammond, IN
(where I used to work and live), it was filmed in Cleveland, OH (where I
currently work and live—sometimes). Over the past few months, the Cleveland Police have managed
to find themselves in some hot water regarding their use of force against the
community that they have sworn to protect and serve.
As reported by the Northeast Ohio Media Group, on November
22, two officers approached a park after receiving a 9-1-1 call that a “guy”
was brandishing a “pistol” and “scaring the shit out of everyone.” The caller also mentioned that the
pistol was “probably fake,” but we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. Upon approaching the park, both
officers exited their cruiser and within seconds a pellet-gun-toting
twelve-year-old boy, Tamir Rice, was shot. He died in the hospital two days later.
This death comes on the heels of a number of high profile police
homicides including the shooting deaths of Michael Brown
and John Crawford (who also had a BB gun—in a store where they sell such toys), as well as the chokehold induced murder of Eric Garner.
In every case, the murderer was not indicted by a grand
jury. That is, each homicide was
classified as “justifiable” or “reasonable” rather than “criminal.” The police, according to the grand
juries, were just doing their jobs.
The grand jury has yet to rule on Tamir Rice’s death, but it
would be surprising if they chose to indict given the recent string of
non-indictments in similar cases (especially in the death of John
Crawford). There is, however, at
least one mitigating factor here—the Cleveland Police Department was recently
investigated by the Department of Justice. The DOJ report
argues, “We have concluded that we have reasonable cause to believe that CDP
engages in a pattern or practice of the use of excessive force in violation of
the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
Given this factor, it is possible that Tamir’s killer could
be indicted. Unfortunately, that sets up the officer to be a convenient
scapegoat for a larger problem. If
indicted, he will become the poster child for police brutality in Cleveland and
his punishment will be offered up as a symbolic punishment for the sins of the
police force writ large.
Admittedly, much of this is speculation, but it’s speculation based upon
a tale we tell all too well.
What is more, if this officer is indicted, the DOJ report will undoubtedly be used as a means of framing
the potential indictment of Tamir Rice’s murderer as singularly unique in
comparison to the other three non-indictments. Which is to say, it would permit us to ignore/deny the fact
that in every case the victim was black and the officer was white.
There are those who will argue (vehemently) that race was
not a factor in any of these homicides, but I think, in a round about way, my
borderline absurd comparison between Tamir Rice and Ralphie Parker tells a
different story. Why? Because when the cop got out of the car, I am certain that he didn’t see Ralphie playing with a toy (see the Eastwood-esque screenshot to the right). Instead, he saw a criminal threatening the lives and safety of those around him.
Admittedly, this Christmas story is a little different than
the one we’re used to watching at this time of year. Instead of wondering if Ralphie will in fact “shoot his eye
out” while playing with his brand new BB gun, we know that Tamir Rice is dead
because he had one. When you watch Ralphie escape unfazed after taking a BB in
the glasses at the end of the film this year, take a moment and remember Tamir
and his family’s Christmas story.
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