Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

A few days ago, WCPO ran this item about a Westwood man arrested for making some false alarms to 9-1-1.  WCPO has a video excerpt hosted, which shows a mug shot of the man, Marvin Montgomery.  He is an African American male, and in the photo he does not look like a kind or gentle man.  Instead, he looks like a black criminal.  The image is one we have seen endlessly on the news—the mug shot of a black criminal.  (Please watch the video before reading any more of this editorial!)

It just so happens that Marvin is my brother-in-law, so I have the strange privilege of knowing many more details about this particular case.

Firstly, I think it noteworthy that Marvin is under the Hamilton County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MR/DD).  My brother-in-law is developmentally disabled, and he has been documented this way for almost his entire life.  He is high functioning, but he needs support in terms of his living situation, and other aspects of regular living.

His developmental disability causes him to be easily manipulated by others, particularly when other people hold positions of authority over him.

And so the story of the crime Marvin committed is very different from the perspective of my family. 

Here is our story.

Someone who serves as an “authority” figure over Marvin has, from time to time, tried to manipulate him.  This person had an enemy, about whom he always complained to Marvin, allegedly telling him all manner of things about this enemy—including that the guy is dangerous, is out to do something nefarious, is in possession of firearms, etc.  WCPO broadcast, “Montgomery reported a fire and a man with a gun.”

One might wonder why this man would make a bunch of false reports to 9-1-1.  From our family’s perspective, this relates to Marvin’s developmental disabilities and the stories he was told about the person who was the subject of his calls.  We think the “authority figure” tried to harass this other person through Marvin-as-proxy.  Naturally, this is just the family’s perspective.  I do not know the identity of this “authority figure,” and I did not contact him for comment.

I’m not trying to suggest that my brother-in-law did not commit a crime.  He did.  And he deserves whatever punishment individuals under MR/DD should receive for making phone calls to 9-1-1.

My only point is to indicate that, I think, the texture of Marvin’s story is very different when you know some additional details.  He comes across quite differently than in the WCPO news item featuring a mug-shot.

Naturally, I’m also curious why it is news that someone under MR/DD made some phone calls to 9-1-1.  Must have been a slow news day at WCPO.

Thank you for reading (and printing from) The Cincinnati Beacon.