The death almost a month ago of 17-year old Trayvon Martin at the hands of appointed neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman has become a cause célèbre that has even drawn the notice of our President, who notes that if he had a son he would probably look like Trayvon.  I’m seeing some defending Zimmerman, and most demanding his head on a platter, and a whole lot of people who don’t understand how the justice system is geared to approach these things.

As I’ve said earlier in this blog, in answer to reader query, we don’t know enough about what happened to rush to judgment yet, whether that judgment is justified self-defense, murder, or manslaughter.  The police have made it clear that there is evidence that has not yet been made public, and may not be put forth until the Grand Jury examines the case next month.  Some issues:

The autopsy results, including toxicology screen, have not yet been released. If it turns out that the young man who died was fueled by drugs known to cause violent behavior, could that change our perceptions? That knowledge is not yet in our hands. (Reportedly, Zimmerman was not tested, and police indicate that he showed no signs of drug or alcohol impairment.) My advice to YOU if YOU’RE ever involved in a shooting: request to be taken to a hospital to have a blood sample and toxicology screen taken. A “negative for everything” result will prevent false allegations later that you were drunk or drugged-up when you pulled the trigger.

The death weapon was a Kel-Tec PF9 semiautomatic 9mm pistol. It has been reported that the gun was recovered with a full magazine and that only the chambered round had been fired. This is a condition we associate with something preventing the gun from cycling a fresh round from the magazine into the chamber after the shot was discharged. One thing that can cause that is another man’s hand wrapped around the pistol, retarding its slide mechanism.  This would indicate, as could certain gunshot residue patterns or cuts in certain places if found on Trayvon Martin’s hand(s), that a struggle for a gun was taking place when the fatal shot was fired. This would clearly change the shape of the case. But – WE DON’T KNOW YET.

Both men, according to initial reports, were “squeaky clean” in terms of their background. We now know, meh, not so much.  There were allegations of domestic abuse against Zimmerman, and a conviction for resisting arrest, in his past. Young Mr. Martin was in the complex in the first place so his dad could straighten him out after being kicked out of school for a week…for what, we don’t know.

Pundits who don’t all seem to understand the concept are tying this shooting in to Florida’s Stand Your Ground law much more than they should. There is conflicting evidence/testimony as to whether Martin approached Zimmerman or vice versa in the penultimate moments before the physical fight that led to the fatal shot.  There is, in short, not yet enough information for any of us outside the investigation to formulate a solid opinion.

Update: Turns out that the Trayvon Martin Facebook page mentioned here last night was the wrong Trayvon Martin; that has been deleted with my apologies, and thanks to those who flagged me to the error.  Also, HuffPost reports that Trayvon had been suspended for chronic truancy, but another source notes that his school’s posted rules do not prescribe that length of suspension for that minor an offense. Meanwhile, the college George Zimmerman had been attending has suspended HIM, due to the current controversy.

My advice? Let’s all “stand our ground,” not participate in the rush to judgment, and wait for the facts and the evidence to become available to us 300 million jurors in the Court of Public Opinion.

1 COMMENT

  1. At last, the only sensible blog providing opinion of this case by explaining what’s going on now and resists any urge to take a side except, perhaps, to let due process of law work.

    If there’s not enough information to ascertain anything, then any conclusions from those not in the know is nothing more than speculation.

  2. It has been reported that Martin was suspended for tardiness, for what that’s worth.

    That the slide my have been prevented from cycling by another person’s hand on it, indicating a struggle for the weapon, supports neither side, IMO. Even if Zimmerman had decided to execute Martin in cold blood, Martin might have tried to grab the gun in self defense. This is an interesting piece of trivia, but IMO, is completely inconclusive.

    I agree with you on the “wait and see” approach. My primary outrage thus far has been that the police have not even bothered arresting Zimmerman. Maybe, under Florida law and case precedent, this case is far more cut-and-dried than it seems, but given what we do know about the case, it’s shocking to me that a jury (or a grand jury) wasn’t even going to be given the chance to hear the evidence.

  3. I’d also like to say that I don’t think we should read too much into the photos you find on his FB page. Lots of 17-year-old kids post posturing and strutting pics and vids to the Internet. I can remember the insecurity of that age well, and the things I did to try to inflate my status among my social peers. The chances that Martin was actually a gang member are extremely slim. IMO, anybody who looks at those pictures and seriously believes they’re more than adolescent posturing is letting their stereotypes overwhelm their reason.

  4. My issue with this case is that, until there was a public outcry, no further investigation was planned. Every untimely death should be deserving of an investigation into the circumstances. It seems from reports that Florida police and prosecutors are citing the Stand Your Ground Law as reason for inaction in some questionable circumstances. I wonder if this is not an effort to use public outrage to overturn a statute they don’t like. Stand Your Ground Laws give us an important safeguard if we must kill in self defense. However, they should not be used to excuse dereliction of duty by law enforcement. For police or prosecutors to shrug their arms and do nothing based on nothing but a claim of self defense does no one justice. Criminals will also attempt to justify their actions. A system that is fair and equitable must at least thoroughly investigate, review evidence and attempt to discover the facts.

  6. Monsters make excuses for monsters who kill innocent children. Just wait until Judgment Day! This life on earth is short and temporary.

  7. It would be nice if you had picked the Facebook Page of Trayvon Slimm Martin. I guess to you guys, they all look alike. That’s Trayvon Martin from Georgia, but nice try anyhow. Keep looking.

  8. Thank you Massad! Ever the voice of reason. Would that the main stream media treat this with as much discretion and balance.

  9. “conviction for resisting arrest”

    From what I’ve read he was charged with assaulting an officer and the prosecutor dropped the case because all he did was remove an officers hand from his friends arm. Not hit the officer or anything but just removed the hand.

    I’ve heard about the Domestic stuff but nothing about resisting arrest.

    A good blog. Too bad the media has already decided Zimmerman is guilty. I’ve got a bad felling that if Zimmerman isn’t charged, and personally I don’t think they will charge him, that we are going to have some rough protests in the coming weeks.

  10. What really scares me here is the alleged steering of witnesses by the police. If it’s true, that could be evidence of something really sinister going down.

    Allegedly, one witness told police that she heard Martin screaming for help, at what point a police detective told her “No, you heard Zimmerman”

    If that’s true, that’s way over the line for police conduct. You don’t steer witnesses. Especially when someone is dead.

    I think things do look pretty bad for Zimmerman, too. Martin was a scrawny little kid. Reports say he was around 140 pounds. Zimmerman is nearly 100 pounds larger and 10 years older. Still, this older, larger man who was explicitly told not to follow Martin by 911, decided to chase him anyway.

    Put yourself in Trayvon’s shoes. Would you be scared or suspicious of a big guy following you after a while?

    Going off your talks, if Trayvon was unarmed, even if he attacked Zimmerman, I think it would be a VERY hard sell to convince a jury that a 140lb unarmed youth poses a deadly threat to a large adult.

    People are pissed because of the flippancy of the police. If the steering thing is true, I want to see some heads roll over this.

    I will concede that we don’t know all the facts, but what we do know now isn’t looking good for Mr. Zimmerman.

  11. Fantastic write up and perspective, not to mention a great reality check. It’s easy to armchair quarterback this thing from the outside and your advice is perfect. Thanks for chiming in here!

  12. Agreed. This is mostly an attempt to fire up passions to affect other agenda’s(?) agendii(?)

    Racism and anti-gun sentiment is flying high here. I don’t know what happened. Releasing the 911 tapes only added to the fire.

    Let’s wait until the investigators finish investigating.

  13. Autopsy report will make TOTALLY undeniable whether Trayvon Martin was – or wasn’t – so close to Zimmerman when shot that self-defense really is plausible.
    Also, if anyone doesn’t think that the beverage can Trayvon Martin had is a “deadly weapon,” just see what happens if you swing at a police officer with one in your hand. You’ll either be shot – or charged with assault with a deadly weapon. (How much does a full 12oz. can weigh?)

  14. Also, I’m surprised a Kel-Tec actually worked. When will people learn and save the cash for a nice CZ-75?

  15. You’ve got the wrong Trayvon Martin facebook page referenced in your article chief.
    Those pics aren’t the same kid who was shot.

  16. I have not followed the case but have heard a lot of politicians speaking about it despite the lack of facts. Thank you for a clear article stating the most obvious fact — that we don’t know enough to draw conclusions yet. Of course, when you don’t have an agenda, the facts and the truth are a lot easier to dispense.

  17. Mas:

    +1

    Remember Richard Jewell…. Guilty as hell all over the press and various forums. Until it turned out that he wasn’t!

    Too soon to say here, in this case, but you can bet Zimmerman should be buying plane tickets to someplace we don’t have extradition from, at least until Zero is out of office.

  18. Very good piece, Massad. I’m glad you found the Facebook photos, as I heard they were out there but hadn’t seen them yet. The police report lists Trayvon Martin as 6′, 160 lb, not the small child in the dated photos released by his family. I wonder why you say “conflicting testimony” regarding the fight. One eye witness to the fight, interviewed on an Orlando TV station the day after the shooting, stated that one guy was on top of another, beating him up. The guy on the ground was in a red sweater (Zimmerman) and was yelling “Help! Help!” The eyewitness turned to go to the phone and heard a shot, and then saw that the guy who had been on top was the one who got shot. None of the other witnesses (that have ben reported in the news) gave conflicting information. They had a poorer view or only heard the cries for help, not knowing which person said them. Obviously, at the time of the shot, Zimmerman could not retreat, and thus Stand Your Ground is moot. Not known, as you point out, is how the fight started. Those of us who carry have an obligation not to provoke a fight. Zimmerman says he didn’t start the fight, but we’ll probably never know that piece of information. As such, the police could not charge him – no evidence to dispute his claim of self-defense.

  19. The Virginia Citizens Defense League email newsletter mentions rumors (no confirming data available yet) that anti-gunners are going to exploit the Martin case to push their agenda: “Oh, the antis are going to try to change our laws to be a “must retreat” state, at least when out in public. I’m told that an ex-federal prosecutor is already starting to talk about such an idea in the media, but I haven’t found a link to anything as of the time I am writing this.” I think this is quite plausible.

    In my opinion, some of the pundits may be linking this incident to “Stand Your Ground” out of ignorance, but others know perfectly well what they’re doing.

  20. Matt, If I was unarmed and there was a man much larger than me stalking me, you’d be DAMN sure I would hit him with my iced tea bottle.

    Martin was allegedly on the phone with his girlfriend at the time of the incident, and if that’s true, his last words were “Why are you following me?” before he was pushed or struck hard enough to dislodge his headset.

    At that point, it’s on. I’m going to hit you with whatever I have until you go down, because you’ve instigated a fight. Ergo, Martin may have hit Zimmerman with his tea bottle, and he was in the right to do so.

  21. There are hundreds of black youngsters killed or injured by other blacks for every case of a black youngster killed by a white person. In Chicago alone there are a dozen shootings by black against other blacks on any given day. There are hundreds of innocent white people killed or injured by blacks for every case of the opposite. The black community should focus on black on black crime as it is the cause of 99% of death of black youths in this country. Stop using this case to deflect attention from the real problem.

  22. Barry and his cohorts in the Communist Party USA, know that they are going to have a tough run in November. With three years of wildly inept and failed left wing policies, they have been alienating even left wing supporters from 2008. So back to basics. They need to polarize the masses. The solution is to use a case like this to gin up some summertime riots in the urban areas. Barry can come out like the “reasonable” man, the savior. The post constitutional, post racial, intellectual who will ride the wave then calm things down. I hear Charlie Sheen saying …”winning !”.

    They WILL lynch this guy Zimmerman, either figuratively or literally. No different than the KKK. To them, the kid and Zimmerman are almost irrelevant. It is the narrative that is just perfect for the cause. Remember these are a dedicated cadre of radicals. They have very little regard for human life, the cause is everything to them. If a couple of hundred die in these urban riots, like happened back in the 1960’s, it will be a small price to pay for a saved election. Barry will have another 4 years to fundamentally transform America.

  23. Very well written article on this issue. My contention, though, is that however this played out…it appears that Zimmerman had absolutely no business being a self-appointed neighborhood watch leader, and, as i have read in other articles, the police themselves well knew that Zimmerman had a propensity to go against their suggestions in these situations, which he willingly and knowingly placed himself in. if someone is going to put on the mantel of a caped crusader, then much more training with weapons should be mandatory. i also question the reasoning of the local police not to have suggested zimmerman’s permit to carry be up for suspension, at the least. i don’t understand why zimmerman thought having a permit to carry gave him the right to wander the neighborhood seeking out trouble…to me, that goes against the very foundation of self-defense. in that respect, i believe zimmerman should be culpable.

  24. to Mary says…now that sure was a rascist comment you made..shame on you for being an obvious rascist…..the boy does not look like my son….but that doesn’t matter to me ( even though it does to obama from hs comments yesterday), but i totally agree with the articles main theme ..that please, let us all seek justuce and let the legal system work through this so that we all know the truth..if there is guilt..let it be established legally..if ther eis innocense …for eithe rparty..let that also be established through the rule of law.

  25. I agree that no one knows the facts of the case, and should reserve opinion for when they come out. I have a lot of respect for Massad and enjoy his postings a great deal. That being said, the first mistake here is in posting pictures of the wrong boy. People who look at what you’ve posted, Massad, because of your reputation, will blindly believe it to be true. Clearly, it is not. They are not the same boy. So, all the talk of “gang signs” and possible gang involvement only serves to fan the flames of opinion against Trayvon Martin. Anyone who has enough sense to not just blindly follow and believe will take the time to SEE that they are two different people, while also knowing that the wisest thing to do is reserve opinion for the facts, whenever they are made known. The right to carry a gun is, in addition to that right..a privilege. Morals, ethics and the law come in to play with this right. Regardless of how this case turns out, it should be a lesson in those qualities to all of us.

  26. I often enjoy your writing but in this case I am sad to see you spout some wait and see while slandering those young man with the wrong fb page and hints of gang relation. I feel the the gun community is going to be quick to demonize this boy to keep antigun feelings at bay. Imo ,if ,as is the apparent feeling that the boy murdered, perhaps he should have been in possesion of something more than a can of soda. I think you should wait and see, and not just say that and show your real bias.

  27. Witness: Martin attacked Zimmerman
    http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/state/witness-martin-attacked-zimmerman-03232012
    A witness we haven’t heard from before paints a much different picture than we’ve seen so far of what happened the night 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. The night of that shooting, police say there was a witness who saw it all. What Sanford Police investigators have in the folder, they put together on the killing of Trayvon Martin few know about. The file now sits in the hands of the state attorney. Now that file is just weeks away from being opened to a grand jury. It shows more now about why police believed that night that George Zimmerman shouldn’t have gone to jail. Zimmerman called 911 and told dispatchers he was following a teen. The dispatcher told Zimmerman not to. And from that moment to the shooting, details are few. But one man’s testimony could be key for the police. “The guy on the bottom who had a red sweater on was yelling to me: ‘help, help…and I told him to stop and I was calling 911,” he said. Trayvon Martin was in a hoodie; Zimmerman was in red. The witness only wanted to be identified as “John,” and didn’t not want to be shown on camera. His statements to police were instrumental, because police backed up Zimmerman’s claims, saying those screams on the 911 call are those of Zimmerman.
    Oh and by the way, Zimmerman is a Hispanic mother in Latino father is white and in a multicultural family, meaning white, black and Latino. Of course the media is not letting that bit of information out. They want to fuel the fire by have everyone believing it was a white on black incident which far from the truth!

  28. As I have had much respect for you, I am very disappointed that you do not bring up that Zimmerman FOLLOWED Martin. This is a known fact. The police then did nothing. He did not “stand his ground” he STALKED the boy. Even if Martin was dangerous, I do not believe that stalking someone gives a CIVILIAN the right to shoot them down. Even if Martin did attack him, which eye witness say did not happen.

    It is actually clear this was mishandled. I live in a “Castle Law” state but let me say that if even a known criminal broke into my home with a weapon and I shoot him/her, I expect my local police to cover all the bases to make sure it was truly self-defense. That’s the risk I take in owning guns, that’s what I was taught in my defensive shooting classes (taken from someone you train). I do not expect a unquestioned walk.

    I think it does the gun community a dangerous disservice to even consider that when we DO have as many facts as we DO have on this, that this irresponsible vigilant is given any sign of support and to go after a TEENAGE boy for being a TEENAGE boy and putting up the photos you have makes we who are responsible gun owners look seriously bad. I can’t believe you would do that!

  29. @Rob: From what I’ve read he was charged with assaulting an officer and the prosecutor dropped the case because all he did was remove an officers hand from his friends arm. Not hit the officer or anything but just removed the hand.

    I’m laughing here, Rob, because, all my life, I have been taught that you do not lay hands on a police officer, ever, under any circumstances. You say, “all he did is remove the officer’s hand from his friend’s arm,” as if that’s a small thing. I’m not the least bit surprised that he was arrested. The only thing that surprises me is that the charge was dropped. He must have had a good lawyer. Mas is welcome to chime in as to his opinions about people “removing his hands” from someone who he has felt it was appropriate to lay them on, in the context of his official duties as a police officer.

    @David: Not known, as you point out, is how the fight started.

    Exactly, and as you point out, we will never know. A person has a right to self-defense until the threat is neutralized. With a firearm, this usually means that the threat is bleeding on the ground or has fled the scene. When defending one’s self with fists, the line is much less clear-cut. Again: WE DON’T KNOW, but what would you do in Martin’s place? Hypothetically speaking, a man who outweighs you by 100 lbs runs you down in the street and initiates physical contact. Somehow, you get lucky and get him on his back. Are you going to then say, “Okay, dear sir. You are clearly at a disadvantage. I shall be on my way.” Or are you going to keep hitting him until he stops resisting?

    My point is that the witness’s testimony is inconclusive unless we can determine how the altercation began, and since Martin is dead, we will only ever hear one side of the story.

    @Long Island Mike: They WILL lynch this guy Zimmerman, either figuratively or literally. No different than the KKK.

    Whoah! I think you got a little carried away there. Unless they’re going to hang Zimmerman from a tree without a trial and then cut his genitals off, they’re not LITERALLY lynching him, and it is DEFINITELY different than the KKK. Let’s be respectful to the people who were actually lynched by not “taking their name in vain” as it were.

  30. @Saigh: He did not “stand his ground” he STALKED the boy. Even if Martin was dangerous, I do not believe that stalking someone gives a CIVILIAN the right to shoot them down. Even if Martin did attack him, which eye witness say did not happen.

    IANAL, but I think this question is not as cut and dried as it might seem. It seems to me that the question is which party first acted outside the bounds of the law. If Zimmerman broke the law first, then he should not be protected by the affirmative defense–or at the very least, his protection should be drastically weakened. It’s easy to hate on Zimmerman’s actions if you think that there were racist motivations for them, but if you look at just the facts, I think it gets a little murkier.

    Consider what you would do if you saw a person who you judged to be up to no good in your neighborhood. You can define that however you want, but you legitimately believe that they are about to commit a crime. Of course, you call the cops. Do you also walk out into your front yard to get a better view? Do you walk onto the sidewalk? If they go around the corner of the block, do you walk to the corner so you can see what direction they went? If you do, are you now “stalking” them?

    My point is that there is a viewpoint from which nothing that we know that Zimmerman did is in any way illegal. Bad judgement? Maybe. But it’s not illegal to walk down the street behind another person. It’s not illegal to stand and watch what a person does on a public street. And, given that, I think it may be harder than it seems to negate Zimmerman’s self-defense claim simply because he was following Martin.

    Heck, even if he approached Martin and confronted him, the self-defense claim may stand. If I see someone peering into my neighbor’s window and I go out and say, “Hey. What are you doing there,” and then they attack me, can I claim self-defense? You betcha. That is what Zimmerman is claiming happened. You can believe it, or not, or withhold judgement, but the claim in and of itself seems consistent with self-defense to me.

    Like many people, when I listen to the 911 tapes, I hear a person who targeted a suspect not because of any reasonable articulable suspicion, but just because he was “looking at houses” and “walking slow in the rain.” I don’t know whether race came into it, or maybe he was jumpy because there had been previous break-ins, or maybe he has a stereotype about kids in hoodies being criminals, or maybe he just didn’t have a cup of coffee that morning, but I think that Zimmerman probably misjudged Martin that day. Even still, people are allowed to make mistakes in judgment, as long as they don’t break the law because of them. And, on the face of it, I’m not convinced that anything that we know Zimmerman did (from the 911 tapes, for example) constitutes illegal behavior.

  31. I agree we should wait for all the facts to come to light. Arm chair detective are a forever getting it wrong cause they don’t wait on the facts. Maybe it was murder, in which case give him prison time. Maybe it was one bad decision in the young mans life, it happens and no one knows why, maybe it was a total miscommunication, punish to the degree appropriate. The one thing I hear is people who have no clue as to what actually transpired, taking one side or the other and beating there chests crying foul! Everybody needs to sit down, take a breath, shut up and let the wheels of justice work thru it. Not even the president should be making comments on what he has no clue about. He has much larger things on his plate, that’s why he has a cabinet full of people to handle such things. All in all public opinion is worth very little if you want justice, isn’t that why we don’t allow vigilantes? Niff said.

  32. Everybody just has to wait and see what ALL the facts are before judgement.
    In the words of an old wise man,(sorry Mas) “what part of the Elephant are you standing next to”

  33. Here is the statement from the Sanford City Manager. Everyone should read it before making a judgment. (in another forum, the picures shown were also found to be from a different Trayvon Martin:

    Fellow Citizens:

    There has been a lot of media attention to the recent incident where George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. This is indeed a tragic situation and has caused a flood of questions and strong emotions from within our community, the region and nation. On behalf of the employees of the City of Sanford, Our deepest sympathy and prayers go out to the family and friends of Trayvon Martin. As a father, I can only image the pain Trayvon’s family must be going though. In an effort to continue to be as responsive as possible to the public seeking information on the incident, I have asked Chief Lee to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding this matter. Below are his responses. Please understand that since this is still an ongoing investigation, the Police Department is limited in what information it can publicly release.

    The City of Sanford is committed to insuring that justice is served and, therefore, the City of Sanford has contacted the United States Attorney General’s Office for assistance in this matter.

    The men and women of the Sanford Police Department extend our heartfelt sympathies to the Martin family. This is indeed a tragic situation. The death of anyone due to violence, especially a 17 year old young man, is morally appalling. As this incident has generated a lot of media attention, we wanted to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

    Why was George Zimmerman not arrested the night of the shooting?

    When the Sanford Police Department arrived at the scene of the incident, Mr. Zimmerman provided a statement claiming he acted in self defense which at the time was supported by physical evidence and testimony. By Florida Statute, law enforcement was PROHIBITED from making an arrest based on the facts and circumstances they had at the time. Additionally, when any police officer makes an arrest for any reason, the officer MUST swear and affirm that he/she is making the arrest in good faith and with probable cause. If the arrest is done maliciously and in bad faith, the officer and the City may be held liable.

    According to Florida Statute 776.032 : 776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force.—

    (1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force, unless the person against whom force was used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, the term “criminal prosecution” includes arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the defendant.

    (2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the use of force as described in subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for using force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force that was used was unlawful.

    Why weren’t the 911 tapes initially released?

    There are exemptions to the public records laws for active criminal intelligence and for ongoing investigations. In this instance, the 911 calls made by neighbors in the subdivision, and the non- emergency call made by Mr. Zimmerman are all key to the investigation by Sanford Police Department. In consultation with the Office of the State Attorney, the Sanford police department had decided not to release the audio recordings of the 911 calls due to the ongoing investigation. Many times, specific information is contained in those recordings which is vital to the integrity of the investigation. At the time, it was determined that if revealed, the information may compromise the integrity of the investigation prior to its completion. The 911 tapes have since been released.

    Why did Mr. Zimmerman have a firearm in his possession while acting in the role of a neighborhood watch member?

    Mr. Zimmerman holds a concealed weapon permit issued from the State of Florida. He is authorized to carry the weapon in a concealed manner wherever Florida Statute dictates. Neighborhood Watch programs are designed for members of a neighborhood to be “eyes and ears” for police and to watch out for their neighbors. They are not members of the Police Department nor are they vigilantes. Training provided by law enforcement agencies to Neighborhood Watch organizations stresses non-contact surveillance of suspicious situations and notifying police of those situations so that law enforcement can respond and take control of the situation.

    Mr. Zimmerman was not acting outside the legal boundaries of Florida Statute by carrying his weapon when this incident occurred. He was in fact on a personal errand in his vehicle when he observed Mr. Martin in the community and called the Sanford Police Department.

    If Zimmerman was told not to continue to follow Trayvon, can that be considered in this investigation?

    Yes it will; however, the telecommunications call taker asked Zimmerman “are you following him”. Zimmerman replied, “yes”. The call taker stated “you don’t need to do that”. The call taker’s suggestion is not a lawful order that Mr. Zimmerman would be required to follow. Zimmerman’s statement was that he had lost sight of Trayvon and was returning to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by Trayvon.

    Why was George Zimmerman labeled as “squeaky clean” when in fact he has a prior arrest history?

    In one of the initial meetings with the father of the victim the investigator related to him the account that Mr. Zimmerman provided of the incident. At that time the investigator said that Mr. Zimmerman portrayed himself to be “squeaky clean”. We are aware of the background information regarding both individuals involved in this event. We believe Mr. Martin may have misconstrued this information. What about media reenactments of the shooting incident? Any media reenactments of the shooting incident are purely speculation. To date the Sanford Police Department has not released any rendition of the events of the evening to anyone other than the Office of the State Attorney. The renditions we have seen are not consistent with the evidence in this case.

    The Sanford Police Department has conducted a complete and fair investigation of this incident. We have provided the results of our investigation to the Office of the State Attorney for their review and consideration for possible criminal prosecution.

    Although the Police Department is the target of the troubling questions, let me assure you we too feel the pain of this senseless tragedy that has dramatically affected our community. Therefore, as we move forward and strive to answer the questions that are a point of controversy in the community, we ask for your patience, understanding and assistance in getting the correct information to the community.

    Thank you,

    Norton N. Bonaparte, Jr., ICMA-CM City Manager March 19, 2012

    http://www.freerepublic.com/%5Ehttp://www.sanfordfl.gov/investigation/docs/Zimmerman_Martin_shooting.pdf

  34. Thanks much for the more sane approach to this one.

    One of my favorite jokes for the last 10 years has been “Don’t confuse me with the facts, I’ve already made up my mind!”

  35. *sigh* I’m glad to see the prudent and responsible article had its intended effect of damping down wild-eyed speculations, inflammatory assumptions and jumping to conclusions. /not. Get a grip people. The facts will come out in due course.

  36. Wow, logic and facts in the middle of a storm of fury and bloodlust. You should receive the 2012 Atticus Finch award for pointing all this stuff out.

  39. The “just wait for the facts to come out” people are sort of missing the point. Of the course of a month the police have done their best to put the whole thing to bed. The victim’s family had to sue to hear the relevant 911 tapes. The additional national scrutiny would not have been warranted a day, or week, after the shooting. It is warranted now.

  40. Joshua….

    “Whoah! I think you got a little carried away there. Unless they’re going to hang Zimmerman from a tree without a trial and then cut his genitals off, they’re not LITERALLY lynching him, and it is DEFINITELY different than the KKK. Let’s be respectful to the people who were actually lynched by not “taking their name in vain” as it were.”

    I did not misspeak sir. If I were Mr. Zimmerman I would be very careful. When the New Black Panther Party and Minister Farrakhan want you dead that is something to consider serious. Maybe you missed these articles. Please read the following:

    http://praisehouston.com/4249652/minister-louis-farrakhan-on-trayvonget-up-and-do-something/

    http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-spokane/new-black-panther-party-poster-george-zimmerman-wanted-dead-or-alive

  41. How come there wasn’t as much stink made about two blacks setting a White college student on fire? Too bad the White race doesn’t stick together like the Blacks do.

  42. The police gather evidence then turn it over to the DA – who ultimately decide whether or not to hand it over to a Grand Jury. The GJ then decides whether there’s probable cause to believe whatever happened was a crime that should be prosecuted.

    In THIS case, the DA – after reviewing all the evidence and witness testimony – determined there was no crime, that Z acted lawfully, in self-defense.

    I cannot blame the family for acting in their grief – but I DO blame all the others – especially the race pimps and hustlers – for turning this into what it has become. If they get their wish, and others die as a result, I hope G*d holds them accountable for the innocent blood on THEIR hands.

    You’d THINK – given the long history of black folks being lynched without due process – they’d be averse to the whole thing.

    Apparently you’d be WRONG.

  43. I accidentally posted before adding the following:

    Those wishing to fan the flames of racial tension are deliberately skewing the facts.

    They’re posting pics of a smiling boy, age about 14 or so. Martin was – by other evidence – no longer that boy, and had not been for several years.

    On the day he died, he was 17, 6’2″ and a football player. The police report – using info from his 2-year-old state-issued ID – said 6’/160#, in reality he was a 6’2/180#+ athlete. By any measure, this was more MAN than “boy”.

    Put plain, the media is describing a “grown man” Zimmerman shooting a “little boy” Martin – in reality Martin stood almost half a foot taller than Zimmerman, and while their weights may have been equal, one was a young athlete while the other was an obese, middle-aged man.

    Add this to all the other facts, and it’s quite clear that the race pimps and hustlers – aided by a compliant media – are concocting a narrative to fit their destructive agenda. WE MUST NOT LET THEM FURTHER DIVIDE US!!

    EVERYONE needs to back off, settle down, and wait for the TRUTH to come out.

    Lynching Zimmerman will solve NOTHING.

  44. TRAYVON MARTIN DOES NOT HAVE GANG PICTURES THROWING UP SIGNS THAT IS A WHOLE NOTHER TRAYVON MARTIN FACEBOOK THAT STAYS IN GEORGIA YALL ARE JUST TRYING TO FIND ANY LITTLE THING TO MAKE THE BOY LOOK LIKE A THUG THAT ZIMMERMAN DRUNK ASS DISCRIBED ON THAT 911 CALL BECAUSE HE HAD A HOODIE ON THE GIRL WHO TRAYVON WAS TALKIN 2 ON THE PHONE CLEARLY STATED HE PUT HIS HOOD ON BECAUSE ZIMMERMAN KEPT WATCHIN HIM THEN HE STARTED RUNNING AND WE DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT KNOW WHAT ZIMMERMAN ACTIONS WERE DURING THIS 911 CALL HE PROBABLY WAS FOLLOWING HIM POINTING A GUN AT TRAYVON THE WHOLE TIME WHILE HE WAS TALKIN ON THE PHONE WITH THE OPERATOR HE WAS ITCHING TO KILL ANY BLACK BOY WHO STEPPED IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD FIRST AND IF IT WAS ZIMMERMAN SCREAMING WHICH I KNOW IT WASNT BUT IF IT WAS THATS BECAUSE ZIMMERMAN IS A GOOD ACTOR AND HE ONLY DID IT JUST INCASE THEY ARRESTED HIM, SO HE COULD HAVE A GOOD ALLABY! TRAYVON HAD EVERY RIGHT TO FIGHT BACK HE WAS ONLY 17 YEARS OLD WITH SOME BIG ASS PIG ASKING HIM WHAT IS HE DOING HERE HE HAD AND IPOD IN HIS EARS I WOULDVE BEEN SCARED FOR MY LIFE I WOULD HAVE FROZE UP AND WOULDNT EVEN BEEN ABLE TO FIGHT SO TO YOU TRAYVON IF YOU DID FIGHT BACK I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE SOILDER AND MAY YOU REST IN PEACE!~

  45. Waiting until the full facts have been ascertained and disclosed is surely good advice.
    However, the attitude of the police department is not reasuring. They effectively tried to draw a veil over the whole incident and only released information when pressed by the media to do so.
    To take blood samples from the dead boy with a view to getting a toxicology report and not to do likewise to Mr. Zimmerman is dreadful “scene of crime” practice.

  46. Thank you for this Mr Ayoob.
    Theres only the political correct version (racist bla bla) of this reaching us over here in Sweden so you gave me more meat on the bones and also some things to thing of before casting judgment on any of the involved.

  47. Watch means watch. Zim pursued on his own and initiated the whole incident.

    Sad to see internet trolls and haters spew on this blog…

  48. The facts
    Mr Zimmerman armed with a hand gun stalked and pursued a minor child, who he later killed. This after ignoring a dispatchers advice, that could have saved this boys life. We know this because this is what Zimmerman claimed to police, or mentions to the dispatcher.

    The Supposition
    As the head of the Neighborhood Watch I would think Mr. Zimmermann would be the first one to uphold the tenets of Neighborhood Watch and not pursue a minor child that he as not seen in the commission of a crime. I support the right to possess a concealed weapon. I also think that once you choose to carry, both your responsibility and liability goes up exponentially. This child is a victim of Zimmerman’s eagerness to right wrong, and secondly his choice to carry a hand gun. Some want to say that it is wrong to judge Zimmerman and let the courts decide. To those people I would say that you are correct. But I would also say that the same consideration was not afforded this child by Mr Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman was judge, jury, and ultimately executioner, albeit reluctantly. Zimmerman pursued someone that there is no evidence did anything wrong. The only evidence that Travon did anything, is that he may have Stood His Ground and attacked a perceived threat on a dark and rainy night. Taravon’s girlfriend claims the he thought he was being followed and made an effort to evade the threat. If this young boy attack Zimmereman who is 100lbs larger than him, and some how bested him this would speak to this child’s desire to protect himself. I think Travon could be said to have been Standing his Ground. At which point Zimmerman should have learned his lesson after taking the beating and later a boxing class. I think those were his screams, ultimately explaining why he needed to carry a gun in the firs place.

  49. This is probably the best and most mature blog I’ve seen so far. Great job guys at expressing your opinions in a more peaceful manner and not calling each other obscure names. I agree that we should all wait for every detail to come out of this case. I also agree that as of now it doesn’t look good for Mr. Zimmerman or the police department. IMO, they did not do a thorough investigation before the outcry. I honestly wished that he obeyed the advice of the dispatcher and not follow Trayvon. I know if I thought someone looked suspicious to me, I would contact authorities and let them know the details of my concerns and stay if a safe haven. No way would I follow them or instigate. Very unfortunate tragedy.

  50. Nice job Mas,

    What a hornet’s nest.

    One fact that could be easily checked: On the night in question, what was the temperture? I understand it was raining but was it cool enough to require a hoodie? Us yankees in the north don’t wear them untill it’s below 40 degrees or so. Ding, Ding, Ding, If it was 70 degrees or so I would say someone wearing a hoodie would be suspicious.

    If Tryvon were white, or conversely, if Zimmerman were black, would this even be a story?

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