If Beale Street Could Talk

by

James Baldwin

Officer Bell Character Analysis

The racist police officer who claims to have seen Fonny running from the scene of the crime after Mrs. Rogers was raped. This is untrue, but Officer Bell wants to take revenge on Fonny because of a previous encounter in which he found himself humiliated in front of a large group of bystanders. This incident took place when Fonny and Tish went to a grocery store and Fonny ended up having to defend her against a creepy white man who sexually harassed her. Seeing commotion, Officer Bell came over to address the situation, but instead of questioning the white man, he started speaking confrontationally to Fonny, eventually saying that he was going to take him to the police station. At this moment, though, the white grocer intervened and told Officer Bell that Tish and Fonny were telling the truth about what happened. Refusing to let Bell take Fonny away, the grocer disparaged him in front of a crowd of onlookers. Ever since then, Bell has wanted to get even with Fonny, so when he heard about Mrs. Rogers’s rape, he arrested him and put him in a lineup of men for her to identify. Since she’d already indicated that the rapist was black, Bell made sure that Fonny was the only black man in the lineup, all but guaranteeing that Mrs. Rogers would single him out. This kind of blatant racism is characteristic of Bell, as made clear by the fact that he killed a young black boy in Brooklyn several years ago and was never brought to justice.
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Officer Bell Character Timeline in If Beale Street Could Talk

The timeline below shows where the character Officer Bell appears in If Beale Street Could Talk. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Troubled About My Soul
Time and Anticipation Theme Icon
...Hayward reminds her that Mrs. Rogers isn’t the case’s only “key witness,” since there’s also Officer Bell , who claims to have seen Fonny running away from the crime scene. “If he... (full context)
Racism, Fear, and Isolation Theme Icon
Hayward clarifies that he thinks Officer Bell is the person who told Mrs. Rogers to accuse Fonny. As he talks about the... (full context)
Racism, Fear, and Isolation Theme Icon
Shame, Judgment, and Morality Theme Icon
...and having three children with her. Addressing the particulars of Fonny’s case, Tish notes that Officer Bell claimed to see him running from the crime scene, though this is virtually impossible, since... (full context)
Love, Support, and Hope Theme Icon
Racism, Fear, and Isolation Theme Icon
Shame, Judgment, and Morality Theme Icon
Time and Anticipation Theme Icon
Ernestine says she has a plan. Since she knows Officer Bell killed a black boy in Brooklyn two years ago, she intends to have that boy’s... (full context)
Racism, Fear, and Isolation Theme Icon
Time and Anticipation Theme Icon
The officer—whose badge reads “ Officer Bell ”—asks Fonny if he lives in the area, and Fonny tells him his address. Bell... (full context)
Love, Support, and Hope Theme Icon
Racism, Fear, and Isolation Theme Icon
Time and Anticipation Theme Icon
Fonny points out that Officer Bell is certainly going to be after him now, especially since the grocer humiliated him in... (full context)
Racism, Fear, and Isolation Theme Icon
Time and Anticipation Theme Icon
Tish thinks about how often she saw Officer Bell after their first encounter. On one particular night during this period, she’s on her way... (full context)
Zion
Love, Support, and Hope Theme Icon
Racism, Fear, and Isolation Theme Icon
Time and Anticipation Theme Icon
...trial, as Tish explains that Hayward hopes to “destroy” Mrs. Rogers’s testimony by saying that Officer Bell purposefully made Fonny the only black man in the suspect lineup because Mrs. Rogers had... (full context)