FruitvaleStation

by

RyanCoogler,January2013,OnyxRamirez

TheBrokenWindowstheorystatesthatifpoliceaddressthesmallqualityoflife
offensesthatcreatedisorder,violentcrimewilldiminish.Theassumptionhereisthatoffenses
likepublicurination,prostitution,smallscaledrugtrafficking,vagrancyandthelike,willlater
leadtolargercrimessuchashomicide,ifunattendedto.Althoughthisseemslikeaniceidea,
whenenforced,BrokenWindowstargetsthepoor,youth,andpeopleofcolor,morecommonly,
theintersectionofallthree.BrokenWindowsPolicing,orBWP,consistsofthemilitarization
oflocalpoliceforcesandthecriminalizationofthosewhodaretolivewhileminorityorin
poverty.Thefilm
FruitvaleStation
,writtenanddirectedbyRyanCoogler,tellsthetruestoryof
the24hoursbeforeOscarGrantdiedatthehandsofBayAreapoliceasaresultofBroken
Windows.
BWPbeganwithWilliamBratton,duringhisfirsttermasNewYorkCitypolice
commissioner.OriginallyappointedtoruntheNYCtransitpolice,Brattonsoughtto
reengineertheNYPD.1AtthebeginningofBrattonstermasheadoftransitpolice,fare
evasionwasthebiggestbrokenwindowinthetransitsystem.2Brattonscourseofactiontofix
thetransitsystemsbiggestbrokenwindow,wastoarmNYCtransitpolicewithnewGlock
ninemillimetersemiautomatichandguns,withfifteenroundclips.Iknowverylittleabout
homerepair,andwhatIdoknow,IvelearnedfromwatchingHGTVs
PropertyBrothers,
somy
opiniononthemattermaybemoot.But,JonathanandDrew(THE
PropertyBrothers
,)have
neverusedaglocktofixabrokenwindow,andtheyreprofessionals,soImnotsurethatitsthe
bestmethod.Attheveryleast,Imsurethattheywouldexhaustallotheroptionsbeforeresorting

Parenti,Christian."ChapterFour:DisciplineInPlayland,PartIZeroTolerance:TheScienceofKickingAss."
LockdownAmerica:PoliceandPrisonsintheAgeofCrisis.London:Verso,2001.pg.70.Print.
2
Parenti,LockdownAmerica:Chapter4
1

tosemiautomaticweapons,simplybecauseitseemscounterintuitivetofixbrokenthingswith
hotlead.Glocksarenotonlyunnecessaryintheinvestigationofnonviolentcrimeslikefare
evasionandgraffitibombingsubwaycars,buttheymayevenuptheanteinaltercationsthatthe
policemayencounter.
In
FruitvaleStation
,OscarGrantisabrokenperson.ThefilmdepictsGrantsdrug
dealingpastandshowsflashbackstohistimeinSanQuentinstateprisonbecauseofdrugrelated
crimes.Althoughthefilmdoesntportrayitclearly,Grantwasreleasedfromprisonand
reconvictedfordrugrelatedcrimesseveraltimesbeforehisdeathattheageof23.InPrison
andSocialDeath,JoshuaPricediscusseshowinmanyways,goingtoprisonleadstosocial
death,evenonceinmatesarereleasedonparole.Therestrictiveparametersofthesystemof
parolemakeitalmostimpossiblenottoviolate,especiallywhenallaccesstosocialprogramsis
takenfromthosewhohavebeenconvicted.Despiteallthis,
FruitvaleStations
depictionof
Oscarisasympatheticone,evenshowinghisdesiretoturnhislifearoundbysymbolically
dumpingthelastofhismarijuanasupplyintotheocean.However,thequalityofGrants
characterbeforehisdeathisnotimportant.WhatledtoOscarsdeathonJanuary1st,2009is
important.
Thefinal20minutesofthemoviearethemostanxietyinducing.AlthoughIknewhow
GrantsstorywouldendbeforeIbeganthefilm,Iwantedsobadlyformanythings.Whenthe
BARTPDaresearchingforthesourceofthealtercationandOscarishidinginthecrowd,I
wantedsobadlyforthepoliceofficernottofindhim.WhenOscarwaspulledoffthetrainand
handcuffed,Iwantedsobadlyforhimtotalkhiswayoutofthesituation.Whenofficer
Johannes
Mehserle
pulledouthisweapon,Iwantedsobadlyforittobethetaserthatheclaimedhehad

beenreachingfor,ratherthanthegunthatshotOscarseveraltimeswhilelayhandcuffedand
defenseless.EverysingledayIwantsobadlyfor
FruitvaleStation
tobeaworkoffiction,but
unfortunately,Oscarsthisisnotthecase.Theeventsthattranspiredthatnightarenotunique.In
fact,1122peoplehavebeenshotandkilledbypolicein2015thusfar.
ThesympathythattheaudiencefeelsforOscarscharacterisntrelevanttothesituation
becauseultimately,itdoesnotmatterhowgoodofapersonOscarwas.Oscarcouldhavenever
regretteddealingdrugsandhewouldnthavedeservedtodie.Itisntrelevanthowrowdyor
combativeGrantwasbeingtowardstransitpolicethatday,hedidntdeservetodie.Oscarwas
handcuffedandseatedwhileoutnumberedbyarmedpoliceofficerstaughttousetheirgunstofix
brokenthings.Crimesdeemedpettygenerallyhappeninurban,povertystrickenneighborhoods
andbytargetingthesecrimes,BWPismeanttoincreasethequalityoflifeformembersofthose
communities.However,BWPfailstoaskwhythesepettycrimesareconcentratedinpoor
neighborhoodsofcolor.BruceWestern,aSociologistwhoresearchesmassincarcerationwould
arguethatthedisproportionatenumberofpeopleofcolorthecriminaljusticesystemisan
economicissue.Theunequaldistributionofwealthandallocationofresourcesmakesitsuchthat
thesekindsofcrimesareinevitableinpoorcommunities.Underfundedandovercrowdedschools
arenotconducivetolearning.Uneducatedpeoplecannotearnalivingwage,evenwhenworking
fulltimejobs.Homelessnessisontherisebecauseoftherisingcostoflivingallacrossthe
country.Thesecrisesarenotamistakeandaslongaswedonotprovideasolutiontothis
economiccrisis,themassincarcerationofpooryouthofcolorandmilitarizationoflocalpolice
willcontinue.BrokenWindowsPolicingdoesnottargetpettycrimes,itcriminalizeslivingwhile
oppressed.