Ingrid, I agree that the police silence Walter because he is an African American, they do not feel as though he is entitled to an opinion. The police mute Walter and his family because they do not care about what they have to say, all they want to do is convict someone for killing the young girl and Walter is a perfect target. Unfortunately, minorities are an easy target to mute which leads to many innocent individuals being wrongly convicted. There is no reason for Walter to be convicted because nothing places him at the scene, but since he is a part of the minority group his voice is muted and his freedom is taken away.