At one point he confronts the gangster Godfrey, saying "I've come to talk to you about the madness"
I think the primary motivation for Rio's family not to call the police was a combination of not trusting the police, and not wanting to start a battle that could end up in a full scale gang war. I think the families were trying to be supportive overall, even though Ricky's mother kicked him out of the house.
According to Families Helping Families "All children, including those with mental, emotional, or behavioral problems, continuously require the support of their parents, siblings, and other family members. The family's culture and values provide the context in which the child develops and influences the way the child thinks, feels, acts, and responds to the world." Definitely, support and looking out for "their own" is a huge part of the urban community, however I believe in different circumstances, Rio's family would have called the police and chosen not to adhere to the "no snitch" code. If Curtis had shot Rio on purpose, or if Ricky would have been the one to shoot Rio, I think it would have been a whole different story. Even the strongest...
But the accidental shooting did not, in these characters' eyes, warrant breaking the code, or endangering the lives and the futures of their children.
I am not saying that I think adjudicating these types of incidents without the police is the right thing to do. In some cases it may be, but ultimately, people need to learn that they can rely on the law to treat them fairly. Unfortunately, many people are correct in their mistrust of the American criminal justice system, so they cannot totally be blamed for their decisions to handle things on their own. If the police would be more fair, honest and trustworthy, then urban communities would be less likely to view them as unfair, dishonest and untrustworthy.
Works Cited
"Adjudication Hearing" Montgomery County Pennsylvania Juvenile Probation Department. 2010. Web. http://mcjp.montcopa.org/mcjp/cwp/view.asp?A=1460&Q=42491
Dibb, Saul. Bullet Boy. BBC Films. 2004.
"Iowa's Mental Health Advocate for Children, Youth and Families" Families Helping Families. Web. http://www.iffcmh.org/notadults.pdf
