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Officer Tommy Castillo
Officer Garrett Tison is a white police officer who shoots and kills Manny. Tison is off-duty when he drives up next to Manny and Justyce at a stoplight. Manny is driving his Range Rover and playing loud hip-hop, and Tison starts looking angrily at the two boys. Afraid because of his recent experience with racial profiling, Justyce turns down the music, but Manny turns it back up when the light changes. At the next light, Tison tells them to turn it down, but Manny refuses, at which point Tison calls the boys the n-word and screams at them. Responding to this, Manny says, “Hey, fuck you, man!” Incensed and out of control, Tison takes out a gun and fires shots into the Range Rover, injuring Justyce and killing Manny. In the aftermath of this gruesome event, Justyce learns from Quan that Tison was Tommy Castillo’s partner and that he was there when Quan murdered Castillo. Trying to clear his name, Tison claims that Justyce and Manny provoked him, and though there’s no evidence of this, his lawyer manages to convince a jury to only convict him of two misdemeanors and one felony, choosing not to find him guilty of murder. Shortly before the court reaches this decision, a group of gang members burns down his house. After Tison is cleared of murder, though, his fellow prisoners kill him in jail.
Officer Garrett Tison Quotes in Dear Martin
The Dear Martin quotes below are all either spoken by Officer Garrett Tison or refer to Officer Garrett Tison. 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:
).
Tison Indictment Step Forward for Justice or Grand Jury Blunder?
Quotes
“The man was defending himself from thugs,” said Tison’s neighbor […]. “I've known Garrett for twenty-five years. If he says those boys had a gun, they had a gun.” A fellow police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, claims the indictment is nothing more than a publicity stunt at Tison’s expense. “They're out to make an example of him. Prosecutor pulled the race card, and the grand jury bought it hook, line, and sinker.”
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Chapter 18
Quotes
“[…] Look, Jus, people need the craziness in the world to make some sort of sense to them. That idiot ‘pundit’ would rather believe you and Manny were thugs than believe a twenty-year veteran cop made a snap judgment based on skin color. He identifies with the cop. If the cop is capable of murder, it means he’s capable of the same. He can’t accept that.”
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Officer Garrett Tison Quotes in Dear Martin
The Dear Martin quotes below are all either spoken by Officer Garrett Tison or refer to Officer Garrett Tison. 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:
).
Tison Indictment Step Forward for Justice or Grand Jury Blunder?
Quotes
“The man was defending himself from thugs,” said Tison’s neighbor […]. “I've known Garrett for twenty-five years. If he says those boys had a gun, they had a gun.” A fellow police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, claims the indictment is nothing more than a publicity stunt at Tison’s expense. “They're out to make an example of him. Prosecutor pulled the race card, and the grand jury bought it hook, line, and sinker.”
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18
Quotes
“[…] Look, Jus, people need the craziness in the world to make some sort of sense to them. That idiot ‘pundit’ would rather believe you and Manny were thugs than believe a twenty-year veteran cop made a snap judgment based on skin color. He identifies with the cop. If the cop is capable of murder, it means he’s capable of the same. He can’t accept that.”
Related Characters:
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