TIFF 2021: Hold Your Fire
Hold Your Fire is a fantastic documentary detailing the botched robbery of a sporting goods store that resulted in New York’s longest hostage-taking siege. In 1973 Brooklyn, when tensions were already heightened between police and communities of colour, what could have been resolved with a quick and mighty show of force by the police surprisingly turned into a conflict-resolution exercise where brains, empathy, and words rose to the top of the cops’ list of tools. At the time, the NYPD wasn’t known for its ability to observe-learn-pivot. They were a powerful police force with the muscle to influence outcomes. However, a suddenly self-reflective NYPD leadership, influenced by world events and by the local socio-political climate, decided to pursue the virtually uncharted territory of negotiating crises for mutually-beneficial solutions. Hold Your Fire is about the infancy of hostage-negotiation, and in an era where police force community engagement strategies are being thrust under the microscope, the story is relevant today.
In essence, Hold Your Fire, follows the unfolding of events in sequence. Periodically, the narrative jumps back in time to flashback-style segments for extra context, but basically, the film begins with the robbers’ attempt to steal guns from the sporting goods store and ends with the standoff’s resolution. Two of the perpetrators are alive today, the leader of the group, Shu’aib Raheem and Duwad Rahman. They are key storytellers (especially Raheem) and tell their side of things from inside the besieged shop. A handful of police officers present at the time also share their views of the events. The most fascinating interviewees though are the shopkeeper, Jerry Riccio – an astute and animated gentleman with a candid recollection of the events – and Harvey Schlossberg, the socially awkward traffic cop with the vital Psychology Ph.D. whom the brass brought in to give an experimental, empathetic real-time look at the NYPD’s developing strategy.
Riccio is just one of those guys who is a great storyteller and a keen judge of character. Listening to him recount details such as having a gun held under his chin to his leadership of the other hostages during the siege is fascinating fare. However, the hero of the film is certainly Schlossberg – and sad to say, he passed away in May of this year. He’s the father of modern hostage negotiation and an interesting, pleasant chap in his interviews. His discussions bring to light one of the major influential developments of the past 100 years. Not only has technological advancement exploded, but science has also brought greater understanding of humanity. Schlossberg’s psychological approach to talking with criminals is a node marking a change in human attitude in general – one where ‘might is right’ may not be the best tactic to win the day. Startlingly, even though these negotiation revolutionary techniques have been taught around the world and fully immersed into FBI protocols, very few American city police forces have had such training.
The events of the story alone, supplemented well by 1973 local news coverage, are interesting enough to fill the runtime. However, Stefan Forbes’ editing and piecing together of the film fine-tune Hold Your Fire into an articulate social commentary without feeling like heavy-handed political spin or finger-wagging. Would-be robber Shu’aib Raheem embodies society's lessons learned through his recounting of events and personal testimonial. He speaks of the journey to reconcile his part in the chain of events that led to a loss of life and learning and moving on. It’s an ongoing process. He actually hears during the interview of how PTSD befell one of his victims leading to a broken home, and he tearfully breaks down – more guilt for him to bear. It’s another example that empathy is impactful.
Delving into this 48-hour siege and spending a few reflective minutes with some of its players, it’s clear that change is hard, yet it’s not impossible. Schlossberg’s techniques are now proven to be successful and influential in saving lives and property and are standard operating procedure within many law-enforcement outfits around the world. Even the former cops interviewed here – the hard-core, gung-ho guys; the ones saying, “if I see a black person come out of that building, I’m shooting” – they soften in their interviews and acknowledge that policing bully tactics and brute force don’t always yield the right outcome. Change is hard and slow, but if these tough opinionated souls can soften a bit, maybe it’s a sign that change is imminent: slow, but imminent.