Officer Tommy Castillo Character Analysis in Dear Justyce

Officer Castillo is the white police officer whom Quan is accused of shooting and killing; he died on the night that he and Officer Tison came to Martel’s house to break up a noisy party. Officer Castillo was combative and terrified of the armed Black boys outside of Martel’s house, one of which was Quan. He pointed a gun at the boys and at Martel, ignoring Officer Tison’s attempts to calm him down. Though Quan didn’t shoot Officer Castillo in this moment, the novel never reveals who did.

Officer Tommy Castillo Quotes in Dear Justyce

The Dear Justyce quotes below are all either spoken by Officer Tommy Castillo or refer to Officer Tommy Castillo. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

But then they’d start searching for the gun that did match. Which could lead to trouble for everyone, Martel especially. Quan knew what contraband the guy had in his house. Which surely could lead to searches of Martel’s other properties.

Quan couldn’t let that happen. Especially not after everything Martel and the guys had done for him. He wouldn’t’ve been able to live with himself.

Related Characters: Quan Banks, Martel, Officer Tommy Castillo

Page Number and Citation: 156

Explanation and Analysis:

He kept pushin’. Come on, kid. We know you did it. Might as well just say so...shit like that.

When he said You know if we get one of your little buddies in here, we can get ‘em talkin’. You should just save ‘em the trouble, that’s when I broke. Just said

Fine, man. I did it. You happy now?

Related Characters: Quan Banks (speaker), Justyce, Officer Tommy Castillo

Page Number and Citation: 182

Explanation and Analysis:

Officer Tommy Castillo Character Timeline in Dear Justyce

The timeline below shows where the character Officer Tommy Castillo appears in Dear Justyce. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Survival, Poverty, and Violence Theme Icon

...Brad makes a joke about white neighbors being upset about not getting an invite, Officer Castillo grips his holstered gun. Quan runs to tell Martel that the cops are here. Martel... (full context)

Justice, Racial Bias, and Growing Up Theme Icon

...what the cops want. When Tison asks for a word, Martel grabs his pant leg. Castillo moves into a shooting stance and points his gun at Martel. Martel pulls his pant... (full context)

Quan can’t breathe and his ankle itches. Castillo is pointing his gun at the only man who’s ever been around to support and... (full context)

This brings Quan to Justyce’s question of what happened the night Officer Castillo died. Honestly, Quan doesn’t remember. He has vivid flashbacks and a lot of black. But... (full context)

Identity, Support, and Community Theme Icon

...know that Quan isn’t a killer. He never fired that night and didn’t kill Officer Castillo. In a postscript, he says he’ll never say who did. (full context)

...buried. Then, Justyce brings up Quan’s desire to plead self-defense. He briefly explains that Officer Castillo pointed his gun at lots of people that night and had no reason to start... (full context)

...the house with a grin. Secretly, Justyce wonders if one of these two is Officer Castillo’s killer. Jared introduces himself and compliments Brad’s grill, which Brad doesn’t appreciate. He recognizes Jared... (full context)