In 1973, four young African American Muslim men entered John and Al’s Sporting Goods in Bushwick, Brooklyn to steal guns. This was a very scary experience which led to changes in police tactics. What is especially gripping about the documentary is that it highlights how hostage negotiation was born out of one city’s racial turmoil. A revolutionary NYPD psychologist, however, found himself in the center of a perilous situation that ended up having innocent people shot and killed as well as an officer dead. Harvey Schlossberg PhD was a new breed of anti violence advocate. Historically, going ‘in Guns Blazing’ had always resulted in unnecessary loss of lives. Schlossberg and progressive leaders within the NYPD decided to explore another method.
Hold Your Fire begins with an attempted robbery gone awry resulting into hostages being taken from the perspectives of those who lived through it. The robbers have stories of their own while hostages and law enforcement officers recall incidents vividly but they might think differently on these circumstances which were not supposed to end like that because no one wanted or should’ve died there either way. It is interesting film about race and class divisions in society. This wasn’t just some random crime or terrorism; rather they were stealing for self preservation but stupidly followed a violent path encouraged by distrust for whites and frustration.
Shu’aib Raheem, Duwad Rahman, Yusef Abdallah Almussadiq, and Salih Ali Abdullah were converted Muslims who grew up living below minimum subsistence level. Shuaib’s voice can be heard throughout this film since he has been telling his story from his early days when he drank “sugar water” and ate ketchup sandwiches till date plus Duwad who also talks about himself extensively too; nevertheless after embracing Sunni Islam both became good friends together long before they even knew one another existed otherwise maybe they would never even meet each other while alive at all. Despite publicly renouncing the teachings of The Nation of Islam, they were marked for death by this black separatist organization. They represented all muslim organizations as dangerous and therefore tried to stop them legally from buying weapons. NYPD’s image of every Muslim group was equally menacing. Shu’aib had to take very extreme measures after his wife was violated in their apartment.
Jerry Riccio, the store manager provides some honest and thoughtful insight on the whole matter. These are amateurs, he realized quickly enough when they could not even carry away a heavy bagful of stolen guns. There were twelve customers in that store at that time. Fonnie Buckner, an elderly black woman with family cried uncontrollably for her life while Rosemary Catalino then aged sixteen reassured her.Finally, someone outside called 911 because Shu’aib fired off a round signaling just how serious they were.
At that time, the Black Liberation Army was an anti-cop terrorist organisation. The police had surrounded the store with hundreds of officers from NYPD.Their realization of this terrible mistake is obvious throughout the film where Shuaib and dwad are concerned but Captain Al Baker and Officer Al Sheppard insist otherwise; according to them these men opened fire first on a crowded street while shuaib insists he intended dropping his gun as he exited but before any agreement can be reached shots come flying from both sides until one passes through mussadiq’s belly who happens to be angriest member among them resulting into officer Tony Gilroy losing his own life on that same street.Not only has this robbery turned into a war zone it has now become a full-scale battle in public view.
The deadly scene is recreated using archival footage, news reports, still photographs and exciting audio tracks in Hold Your Fire.On top of cops blacks hated primarily because they saw whites as outsiders who do not belong within their ethnic neighborhoods (Baker_B): “I would never say policemen are racist,” Baker says, “but I won’t deny that white police officers are outsiders to some black communities.” Tuohy, a partner of Tony Gilroy who had been murdered by Muslim terrorists, speaks for the entire NYPD when he expresses his rage. These men had to be hit hard and killed after one of these guys has slain a cop of their own.
Baker stated that NYPD Commissioner Patrick Murphy was detested by the rank and file police. He and his black subordinate, Benjamin Ward, had predicted mass murder. In a building full of ammunition, twelve hostages had been taken. It is amazing to think that Harvey Schlossberg was only a traffic cop then when he appealed to Murphy. He had witnessed the horrific consequences of the Attica Prison Riots and Munich Olympics Siege which led to the deaths of many civilians. Schlossberg puts forward a daring proposal.
They call on Gerald Lefcourt, a white lawyer who defended the Chicago 8, for opening up lines of communication.
It was never considered to negotiate or talk with terrorists before this time. They were bad people whom you give time to surrender and then attack heavily so as to minimize your losses. This was stupid according to Schlossberg, a Russian Jew whose family escaped from pogroms. They did not know who they were or what they wanted. Shu’aib’s and Riccio’s account differs from Baker’s portrayal of the first gunfight in one of the best scenes in this film. According to Baker, all the policemen shot above those inside while hostages were being killed in store aneventually discovered that it wasn’t true.Riccio definitely said no.In both cases he could feel their bullets whizzing by his arms.
Stefan Forbes (Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story), serves as director, editor and cinematographer who doesn’t mince words when it comes out during interviews about bare truths.
Shu’aib and Duwad admit their crime.They accept full responsibility for their actions.Their apologies are shown to them by Riccio’s daughter Rosemary Buckner along with NYPD officers.This leads to different conclusions between police and victims regarding forgiveness.On that note I find Riccio’s last thoughts more touching.
Hold Your Fire is an incredible film which hits hard at various nerves. Negative police interactions with minorities still pose a problem. Criminals must be punished for breaking the law. The film does not give them a pass. It forcefully demonstrates that communication is vital when it comes to defusing threats. Harvey Schlossberg was revolutionary in how he handled dangerous hostage situations. Establishing common ground, building trust, and attempting to prevent bloodshed are taught by her as long as possible. By doing so, Schlossberg has saved thousands of lives.
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