How does including the perspectives of police officers affect the story?

How does including the perspectives of police officers, including that of Officer Diaz and Sergeant O'Reilly affect the story? How did this affect your views on the issue of police violence?

There are good and bad people in every race and walk of life. Portraying the jaded officer, O'Reilly, with the caring officer, Diaz, was a positive. O'Reilly sees the boy as another criminal who needs to be totally vetted and investigated— by the rules! Diaz looks at the boy and wants the truth, but without condemning him first. One shouldn't condemn an entire profession, police, with the acts of a few bad participants.

I think the author wanted to show that not every cop is “bad” and that there are discussions and disagreements that the public is not privy to. Obviously, Diaz was the “fair one”, but it also showed that while O’Reilly was initially prejudiced, he came around.

Gowda shows us that just as people whose skin is not white are not all the same and range from “bad” to “good” we make the same mistake in painting people who are in the same profession or career with the “same brush.”

O’Reilly saw a brown skinned young man, but actually he was a tall boy, twelve years old. O’Reilly immediately thought he was guilty. Diaz was the officer who wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. He in the end saved Ajay. I think that we all know that there are many good police officers, but unfortunately we also know there are some bad. Also at the police station Ajay should have been sent to juvenile immediately. Also his parents should have been treated better.

2 things: 1) it reminds the reader that there are good and bad police officers just like good and bad people, and 2) it explains or provides a back story re: how a 12- year-old autistic boy could be arrested for a terrorist type crime that in retrospect was overblown.

There are always different versions of events depending on how the character lived through it; and both can be true. Life experiences will always affect the way someone looks at any event and how to decide who can be trusted. It is difficult to trust anyone who is a stranger.

It brought another layer to the story of Ajay’s mistreatment by the police to see their perspective. Whereas Mateo was tuned in to Ajay as an individual, O’Reilly was more interested in Ajay’s actions and the color of his skin in relationship to crimes that had recently occurred. O’Reilly wanted to cover himself and the community with an investigation instead of releasing him the night he was pick up. Mateo was newer to the force and more considerate of Ajay as an individual and as a child. He sensed that Ajay had relationship challenges.

I think that in the treatment of Ajay by the police, the author continued to show restraint and balance. I think that the Shahs should have immediately notified the police once they had a hospital report on the physical damage done to Ajay.

O'Reilly relates a previous incident: "Fresh out of sensitivity training, O'Reilly told himself not to react the way his body wanted to. Hand on the gun, but not out of the holster. He found Ronnie[his partner trying to talk down a strung-out looking redhead, who must have felt cornered with not much to lose. The kid grabbed a gun...O'Reilly reacted quickly enough to wound he kid in the shoulder, but Ronnie was hit...and would never walk right again."

Note that his "instincts" in this episode were triggered NOT by a black child, but by an apparently white suspect.

So when he reacts to someone who appears much older than 12 with a drone in restricted air space (with signs prohibiting such activity prevalent) and thinking he could be dealing with a terrorist - to immediately brand him a racist seems a stretch.

It seems, in both examples, the strung out robber and the potential terrorist, O'Reilly's reactions are to what the person appears to be doing, rather than to some pre decided racial animus. Had the drone flyer been another redhead, I think he'd have reacted the same way as with Ajay.

It highlights some of the problems in law enforcement and in the country at large. Some are eager to jump to their own conclusions while some like to take a step back and assess the situation. It’s what we have seen with stories like George Floyd

Nice contrast with the older, jaded, more prejudiced cop with the younger, more open, latino one - police not all cut from the same cloth.

I think including the perspectives of the police offices was central to the story. It became the key that unlocked all the different ways people, especially recent immigrants and people of color are perceived in a crisis situation. I didn't see the two cops as one good and one bad. But rather, they were the personification of current assumptions about police officers relating to non-white suspects, O'Reilly, and the progress that police departments are trying to make, Mateo. That said, police officers in the field are always at risk, and must act to minimized harm to others as well as themselves. A combination of their past experiences, recent training, and "gut" feelings will always contribute to their actions. I thought this concept was well covered in the book.

It was important to the story to know what the officers were thinking. The older, more experienced officer seemed to see everything in black and white, while the younger officer, Mateo, sees things in shade of gray. He seemed more understanding of the fact that sometimes you need to look beyond what you see to discover what actually is. I can't help but wonder about his experiences growing up, given his name, which sounds like he might have had some of those minority experiences in his life.

I think it made the story more rounded. It showed us both sides of the story and made us see the police officers as actual people, not just the bad guys.