Neighborhood watch captain shoots innocent black youth and doesn't even get arrested

[Bump]

http://news.yahoo.com/family-florida...044537742.html




ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The family of a 17-year-old African-American boy shot to death last month in his gated Florida community by a white Neighborhood Watch captain wants to see the captain arrested, the family's lawyer said on Wednesday.

Trayvon Martin was shot dead after he took a break from watching NBA All-Star game television coverage to walk 10 minutes to a convenience store to buy snacks including Skittles candy requested by his 13-year-old brother, Chad, the family's lawyer Ben Crump said.

"He was a good kid," Crump said in an interview, adding that the family would issue a call for the Watch captain's arrest at a news conference on Thursday. "On his way home, a Neighborhood Watch loose cannon shot and killed him."

[Related: Fla. teen avoids deportation]

Trayvon, who lived in Miami with his mother, had been visiting his father and stepmother in a gated townhome community called The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, 20 miles north of Orlando.

As Trayvon returned to the townhome, Sanford police received a 911 call reporting a suspicious person.

Although names are blacked out on the police report, Crump and media reports at the time of the shooting identified the caller as George Zimmerman who is listed in the community's newsletter as the Neighborhood Watch captain.

Without waiting for police to arrive, Crump said, Zimmerman confronted Trayvon, who was on the sidewalk near his home. By the time police got there, Trayvon was dead of a single gunshot to the chest.

"What do the police find in his pocket? Skittles," Crump said. "A can of Arizona ice tea in his jacket pocket and Skittles in his front pocket for his brother Chad."

Zimmerman could not be reached for comment on Wednesday evening at a phone number listed for him on the community's newsletter.

Crump said the family was concerned that police might decide to consider the shooting as self defense, and that police have ignored the family's request for a copy of the original 911 call, which they think will shed light on the incidents.

"If the 911 protocol across the country held to form here, they told him not to get involved. He disobeyed that order," said Ryan Julison, a spokesman for the family.

"He (Zimmerman) didn't have to get out of his car," said Crump, who has prepared a public records lawsuit to file on Thursday if the family doesn't get the 911 tape. "If he never gets out of his car, there is no reason for self-defense. Trayvon only has skittles. He has the gun."

Since Trayvon, a high school junior who wanted to be a pilot, was black and Zimmerman is white, Crump said race is "the 600 pound elephant in the room."

"Why is this kid suspicious in the first place? I think a stereotype must have been placed on the kid," Crump said.

(Editing By Cynthia Johnston and Peter Bohan)

[go bo]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

I think that was a sarcastic post.

I like how we're now pretending suspensions are hard to get in the days of 0 tolerance policies. You can get that long of a suspension by taking asprin to school.

twas twas, but apparently not clear enough...

my bad...

[go bo]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

Next time I want the constitutional rights of a person who should be presumed innocent taken away I will look you up. Your racism and fascism is equally as 'fantastical' as my legal prowess.

racism and fascism?

and here i thought you were relatively sane despite your boorish ways...

you and sportsshrink should get married and raise little hyerboles together, but be sure to keep them safe from fascist racists...

oh, wait, fascism, that sounds like bep...

you should probably marry her instead of ss...

just for grins, could you point out where i am being racist? a specific post would be helpful, me being an idiot and all...

[go bo]

Originally Posted by Bowser

^ Porbably a repost. Sorry about that.

go shoot yourself with a bag of skittles...

[Pawnmower]

Originally Posted by go bowe

racism and fascism?

I guess technically you are right, it could be OR instead of AND.

But it has to be one or the other..doesn't it...Unless you have another explanation for the desire to deny Mr. Zimmerman of due process.

[HonestChieffan]

Wonder if the witness they have been reporting on will get all the Zimmerman bashers to give a nice collective.....nevermind

[Bump]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

No, I have no feeling/thought about stand your ground laws. I haven't read them or know how they work in conjuction with 'normal' rights to self defense and use of force.

I do believe Zimmerman is a victim in a way, but probably not the way you think. He has been bashed by the media, pictures you see of him are from mug shots. He is made to look much bigger/scarier than Trayvon. His record (one dismissed assault on a police officer that he was cleared of and denied) has been discussed. He has been painted as a racist white guy. Basically I believe the whole situation has been very unfair to to Mr. Zimmerman. Meanwhile Trayvon has been painted as an angel, pictures of him 4-5 years ago have been shown to make him look child like/angelic, and his school record has been put under the rug. Why the bias? Clearly if Zimmerman is guilty there is no need for this.

Do I think zimmerman is a victim? Do I think he acted in self defense?

I think personally whoever initiated the physical contact is the criminal. If trayvon threw the 1st blow (which would be dumb) then I'm not saying he deserved to die, but when you do something dumb, there can be bad consequences.

If Zimmerman tackled/grabbed/ or used any kind of physical force on martin, then sure, punch the dude in the face!

But I don't think following someone, calling the cops, and asking them what theyre doing (when they don't live there and aren't recognized) is grounds to get punched in the face.

Sorry for the complex answer...heck maybe I didn't answer....Bottom line, I am keeping an open mind. I think that Zimmerman is probably guilty of some sort of over-reaction. Not any kind of murder, but maybe something else. Florida has really shitty manslaughter laws, so maybe not manslaughter...but something like negligent homicide - and I mean at the very MOST.

But if there are witnesses who can prove Trayvon threw the 1st punch or if it comes to light he had a pattern of gang activity etc...then it could make even that very difficult. Or if it is shown there was a struggle for the gun, or if trayvon was detaining him by way of mount. Even WITH the help he is getting from the media and Sharpton crew.

I agree with what you are saying about how the media is making it look like that, some facts about both people would be good. If Trayvon has been corrupted by his peers and into a gang, that would definitely sway some opinions and make everybody say "wait a minute here!" but until then, people think an innocent youth was ultimately killed due to racial profiling.

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by Bo's Pelini

The problem with this case is we think we have all the facts but we don't and we're going on media reports. I'm going to withhold judgement until all the facts are presented.

The racial tension in this country is disgusting. I think the media plays into it a bit but we also have uniformed morons and a society that's built upon tearing others down. I'll say this about Al Sharpton: He's no Dr.King and to call him a civil rights "leader" is an insult. That man does nothing but adds more fuel to the fire.

Damn Bo, this post here is 3/4ths accurate. The only part I would disagree with is that the Marxist Media do more than play into it but they actually try to instigate. We saw it when they tried pulling this sh** during all the Tea Party rallies in 09 and 10 trying to label them as racists.

Did you see where OMarxist last week mentioned this case we are talking about at some campaign stop? He basically community organized the country or attempted to anyhow by even just commenting on this case giving the impression that this Latino is already guilty of wrong doing.

Community organizing is a dressed up term for 'political thugging' by the Marxist Left used on an uneducated person or uneducated group of people to agree with a particular political position while being used as pawns to advance their cause while telling this person or people that the Govt will ultimately take care of them. Typical Marxist crap

Looks like you are beginning to shed your some of Lefty turkey feathers and are starting to grow some Conservative Eagles Wings and will be able to truly soar in truth here in due time.

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by go bowe

racism and fascism?

and here i thought you were relatively sane despite your boorish ways...

you and sportsshrink should get married and raise little hyerboles together, but be sure to keep them safe from fascist racists...

oh, wait, fascism, that sounds like bep...

you should probably marry her instead of ss...

just for grins, could you point out where i am being racist? a specific post would be helpful, me being an idiot and all...

Fascist ? Look at our own President and especially your own party

[Chiefshrink]

Hey if Obama had the audacity to "community organize' making comments about this case politicizing this issue because he thought about his daughters, I can't wait until he talks about these 2 black kids who set this white kid on fire

You know OMarxist is the great Unifier and great Uniter according to the MMP(Mainstream Marxist Press)

[KChiefer]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

Zimmerman has not publicly given any accounts. From what I understand, Zimmerman's lawyer claims that zimmerman got out of the car, to get a better look at the street sign/addresses and to ask what martin was doing.

If he's a neighborhood watchman shouldn't he know what street and 100-block he's on? It's HIS neighborhood. If that's why he got out of his SUV, it's yet another reason the dude's an idiot.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by KChiefer

If he's a neighborhood watchman shouldn't he know what street and 100-block he's on? It's HIS neighborhood. If that's why he got out of his SUV, it's yet another reason the dude's an idiot.

I'm pretty sure the shooting happened beside/behind a house, so there's more to the story than Zimmerman is telling.

[Pawnmower]

Originally Posted by KChiefer

If he's a neighborhood watchman shouldn't he know what street and 100-block he's on? It's HIS neighborhood. If that's why he got out of his SUV, it's yet another reason the dude's an idiot.

Well I'm sure you will wait and hear what the grand jury decides on April 10th and keep an open mind (LOL) but I think I remember something about a pathway that cut between blocks, and he got out of his car to check the address.....and possibly holler down the pathway..I saw a map of it on someone made with google it was like this where the x's are houses and the --- is a public jogging/walking path. The .'s are just street. I cant do it perfectly but it went around the upper houses and cut through the block. I think he was getting out to possibly explain that pathway to the cops, but again....he may be an idiot but you should at least try and be fair. I mean maybe he knew the block maybe he didn't but he probably doesn't memorize every address.

Trayvon may not exactly come out looking like the smartest person in the world. Will you be so quick to call him an idiot? He is the dead one. What if it turns out his own actions were the main cause of his death? Will you give the same harsh treatment to him or just Zimmerman still?


X--- X--- X--
X . X . X
X . X . X
X . X . X

(it doesnt work, ill try and find the image, the 3 rows of x's should line up, like blocks)

[crazycoffey]

Originally Posted by philfree

I see. I was just looking for truth instead of just picking a side and making up my supporting version.

I just spent two hours shifting through 60 plus pages in this thread, all I've learned is no one knows shit, well except how to speculate both sides and hurl insults. I wondered what happened to this thread, just found it again.

Did Obama really come out and say this could have been his kid? That seems weird.

-still reserving comments until more facts come out here too....

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by CrazyCoffey

I just spent two hours shifting through 60 plus pages in this thread, all I've learned is no one knows shit, well except how to speculate both sides and hurl insults. I wondered what happened to this thread, just found it again.

Did Obama really come out and say this could have been his kid? That seems weird.

-still reserving comments until more facts come out here too....

Obama merely commented that it hit close to home, because if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon (black teenage, wearing a hoodie). A pretty innocuous comment blown out of proportion by Fox News and the haters.

[Predarat]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Okay but it sure doesn't look like he is, but thanks to a dumb ass law and the fact that the...as you claim.... "aggressor" or "2nd victim" or whatever dumbass side you've taken for this moment can't remove reasonable doubt because he's dead.

This entire thing is a huge mess and if it's handled wrong, the racial tension in that area is going to be thick as hell.


Okay good, get out

Hopefully if there is racial tension (hopefully there will not be but there usually is with this sort of thing) its directed where it should be, at hispanics and not whites.