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

[Bump]

This is some ****ED UP SHIT, they aren't sure if the racist neighborhood watch idiot should be arrested? If anything, local gangs might take notice of this and start shooting up that neighborhood or just random white neighborhoods. I could never live in the south, it's ridiculous. The guy shoots an innocent teen walking to the store to buy skittles. Should be life in prison, that's cold blood man.

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)

[Setsuna]

Originally Posted by R8ers

Have you ever seen a black person? He looks hispanic loser.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by R8ers

Autopsy results reportedly indicate that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin had injuries to his knuckles when he died, which could support George Zimmerman’s claim that the unarmed teenager assaulted him before he was fatally shot.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/16...#ixzz1v4BLGoyo


That funeral director said he had no swelling or injuries....

Once the dust settled, I don't think this is a surprise to anyone. I think it was glaringly obvious that Zimmerman did shoot Trayvon in self defense. Also interesting to note that while many on here were really quick to pounce on Trayvon for his questionable social media stuff, few have mentioned that Zimmerman did plenty of racially questionable things too on Myspace. So the pendulum always swings both ways.

I still very much question whether Zimmerman should have ever put himself in that situation in the first place. It will be interesting to follow--the prosecutor is definitely not ****ing around. I read that she has about 67 CDs of eyewitness testimony, cell phone records, surveillance footage from the clubhouse, etc.... Maybe none of it is impactful, but interesting to know that it's there.

Like I've said many times before, pretty sure Zimmerman is a good bet to win the trial, but I think somebody is most definitely going to pay in a civil trial.

[mlyonsd]

This could get ugly.

[HonestChieffan]

Originally Posted by mlyonsd

This could get ugly.

It won't. Trayvon will be exposed and it will pass on.

[mlyonsd]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

It won't. Trayvon will be exposed and it will pass on.

I don't think the other side will agree with the final reports. They sounded off so early they will defend their positions and die on their swords on the idea corruption took place.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by HonestChieffan

It won't. Trayvon will be exposed and it will pass on.

Trayvon isn't as innocent as his defenders make him out to be.
And Zimmerman probably isn't as innocent as Trayvon's critics make him out to be.

[notorious]

This is Exhibit A of what happens when people are ruled by their emotion instead of using rational thought.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Once the dust settled, I don't think this is a surprise to anyone. I think it was glaringly obvious that Zimmerman did shoot Trayvon in self defense. Also interesting to note that while many on here were really quick to pounce on Trayvon for his questionable social media stuff, few have mentioned that Zimmerman did plenty of racially questionable things too on Myspace. So the pendulum always swings both ways.

I still very much question whether Zimmerman should have ever put himself in that situation in the first place. It will be interesting to follow--the prosecutor is definitely not ****ing around. I read that she has about 67 CDs of eyewitness testimony, cell phone records, surveillance footage from the clubhouse, etc.... Maybe none of it is impactful, but interesting to know that it's there.

Like I've said many times before, pretty sure Zimmerman is a good bet to win the trial, but I think somebody is most definitely going to pay in a civil trial.

I don't see it.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

I don't see it.

Even if he was never officially registered under Neighborhood Watch, he was in name a Neighborhood Watch rep. He was specifically trained to be the eyes and ears of the police, and was specifically told NOT to pursue any suspicious parties. It was specifically noted that confrontations like this would happen. If he was truly Neighborhood Watch, I believe it's in the Sanford rules that nobody on patrol is to walk around armed.

If I'm the Martins' lawyers, I ask who in the right mind would let a guy with his violent history patrol their neighborhood without a background check? I'd ask why the patrol guy is carrying a firearm. I'd make a pretty clear argument that Zimmerman was breaking protocol BIG TIME the minute he stepped out of his car. Especially so when he stepped out with a firearm. Either the police/HOA were grossly negligent in training Zimmerman of his responsibilities or Zimmerman was trained and just flat-out ignored it. And I think the Martin family will certainly have every right to question if the police did their job, which I think they did very poorly.

And I think there will be some credibility issues, which I think will probably come into play in the civil trial. And I think it's pretty tough for any supporter or critic to deny that it's probably likely that Zimmerman created a conflict that probably should have never happened. It will be very, very interesting to see if the evidence undermines his credibility, because the prosecutor appears to have a mountain of it.

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Trayvon isn't as innocent as his defenders make him out to be.
And Zimmerman probably isn't as innocent as Trayvon's critics make him out to be.

One went out looking for a confrontation.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

One went out looking for a confrontation.

I disagree. Martin attacked him while he was observing the environment.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

One went out looking for a confrontation.

No matter how anyone spins the story, it's very hard to believe that Zimmerman got out of his car with any objective in mind but to start a confrontation. I'm not saying he wanted to get in a fight. But it sure seems like he wanted to confront him.

It's also very hard to believe that Trayvon didn't overreact to Zimmerman and acted wildly inappropriately.

There is enough public evidence to show that both did things they should not have done.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

I disagree. Martin attacked him while he was observing the environment.

He was specifically instructed to never pursue anyone suspicious while on patrol
He was reckless to patrol in that way while carrying a firearm, which is expressly forbidden in those situations.
His 911 call sure doesn't sound like a guy observing. It sounds like a guy who wants to settle something and his "****ing punks" comment sure suggests that he's a little bit pissed off.
He claims that Martin was circling his car which is why he left his car, but doesn't that completely contradict his 911 call where he was already outside the vehicle and his later testimony that claimed that after the 911 call, he was heading back to his vehicle before he was confronted?
He has more than a history of inciting confrontations, of losing his temper, and of following supposedly suspicious characters all the way to their doorstep. That is not observing, that is pursuing.

I think it takes a tremendous leap of faith to actually believe Zimmerman was some innocent bystander who got jumped. Should he have been attacked like that? Of course not. But that shouldn't justify his behavior if he was attempting to confront him.

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

No matter how anyone spins the story, it's very hard to believe that Zimmerman got out of his car with any objective in mind but to start a confrontation. I'm not saying he wanted to get in a fight. But it sure seems like he wanted to confront him.

It's also very hard to believe that Trayvon didn't overreact to Zimmerman and acted wildly inappropriately.

There is enough public evidence to show that both did things they should not have done.

I agree, except maybe the last comment. But I find it odd that Zim's defenders cling to this Stand Your Ground thing (although he wasn't standing his ground, he was following) but Trayvon apparently wasn't standing his ground when he was approached by Zim.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

I agree, except maybe the last comment. But I find it odd that Zim's defenders cling to this Stand Your Ground thing (although he wasn't standing his ground, he was following) but Trayvon apparently wasn't standing his ground when he was approached by Zim.

In my opinion that is backed by absolutely no fact, I think there is more than enough to build the case that Zim pursued more aggressively than he should have. Again, just pure opinion.

In court, I think it's going to be very tough to prove. If he confronted at all, we don't know if it was verbal threats or if any physical threat was involved. We don't know who made the first move.