Eventually Trayvor did run, the girl said. He thought he’d managed to escape, but the strange man was suddenly back, and cornering Trayvon. The cell phone monitored the entire incident. Trayvon: “What are you following me for?” Then the man: “'What are you doing here?” In the words of the 16 year old friend, “Next thing I hear is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the head set just fell. I called him again, and he didn't answer the phone." Then the phone went dead.
During his tracking of the suspicious stranger, Zimmerman was told by police not to follow; They would handle it. But George was caught up, and continued in pursuit. Neighbors heard the loud conversation and the scuffling, and called police. They reported screams. The time line on Trayvon’s cell phone indicated a five minute argument and altercation. Then Trayvon was dead from a gunshot wound.
Tracey Martin, the teen’s father, told authorities, "He knew he was being followed and tried to get away from the guy, and the guy still caught up with him and that's the most disturbing part. He thought he had got away from the guy, and the guy backtracked for him."
The larger community that includes the gated subdivision is Sanford. Sanford’s black residents have complained that the region's police department targets and arrests blacks, while allowing whites accused of similar offenses to go free. They talk of arbitrary arrests and harassment. The current Sanford police chief, William Lee, has been in office less than a year. The previous chief of police was removed from office resulting from an incident wherein a black man was beaten in downtown Sanford by a white man with ties to a Sanford police officer. The beating was caught on video, but the man doing the beating was not arrested.
The death of Trayvon Martin has aroused interest not only in Florida, but nationally. Even in New York City, marchers and demonstrators are seeking inquiry and justice. The teenager's father, Tracy Martin, told a New York crowd "We're not going to stop until we get justice." The crowd in Manhattan chanted "We want arrests.”
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - kelly
justice
2 - Igor
It's still Open Season on blacks in America. And, in Florida, the beloved NRA has given whites a Special Gun right to use on blacks.
3 - Smiley
We want Justice ..
4 - Monica
There is shouldnt be an isussue were blacks should be unable or afrid of whites. Racial Segergation is over. No race should be afrid or be treated better than another. This man should be arrested for what he did. Trayvon was still a child planning his life. He wasnt ready for this.
5 - Igor
Thanks to police interference, forensic evidence has been destroyed, and the DA can no longer even prove that Trayvon was killed by Zimmermans gun (which , incidentally, he may be planning to use again on a suitable human target, or he may have destroyed it!).
The Sanford FLA police officers, starting with the chief, should all be arrested as accomplices, after the fact, to murder. That makes them eligible for the death penalty, and the Supremes have upheld such convictions, e.g., in the case of a getaway driver.
6 - Cannonshop
#5 for once, Igor, I'm in complete agreement. They can even use RICO statutes in the prosecution, since destruction of evidence is Obstruction of Justice, which is a felony...and a felony in a capital murder case carries an automatic First Degree Murder attachment, which makes the perp eligible for the death penalty-not, however, that they'd use it, (pity that. I'd love to see them lined up on electric bleachers...)
The actions of the Sanford Fl. Police and Prosecutors undermines the very concept of the Rule of Law. Worse still, they chose, and I would say intentionally and with malice, to misinterpret the law in order to facilitate their crime. Pity that THAT isn't ALSO a felony applicable to Government Officials.
But I don't think modern execution methods really are sufficient in the actual SHOOTER's case. Zimmermann styles himself a 'vigilante', but what he did would not fill that role-he chose an unarmed victim, one he could bully and pursue, he started an altercation, he chose to use lethal force.
i.e. he found someone the Sanford cops would let him kill for kicks.
This guy needs to be fed, piece by piece, to the alligators, while still alive, then left to die of exposure or hung up for the crows...as a lesson in why you don't bully people that are smaller than you, unarmed, and unprotected.
Okay, I admit, that's a little bit too far.
slow-drop hanging in front of the courthouse, let him kick and goggle his eyes while his face turns purple for hours before dying, for the crowd. "educational"...It should be done for the children, who can scatter birdseed at his dying feet.
7 - Cannonshop
y'see, folks, when you START the fight, when you PURSUE someone and start the fight, nothing you do in it is "Self Defense".
Reverse positions here...(bear with me), Give the gun to Trayvon Martin. (yeah, I know it's not legal for 17 year olds to carry firearms, but this is a thought experiment now...)
NOW have Zimmermann come up and start a fight, and let's say Trayvon shoots him.
THAT is self-defense. Zimmermann's bigger, for starters. Nearly 100 Lbs bigger, he's older too-by eleven years. He was the belligerent here-he pursued the boy and started the altercation.
The KID had reasonable cause to believe his life, health, and safety were in danger. Zimmermann did not-End of Line.
On the bare facts of the case alone, Zimmermann's a murderer for what he did-because of what he did to get to that point.
Now, the damage done by the Sanford cops...
hooo boy. Where to begin? Unfortunately, it won't begin, because the South is a racist hell hole, and there are potential motives for WHY they did what they did that extend beyond normal racism into some pretty creepy directions, including political directions.
8 - Dan
The neighborhood watch guy sounds like a complete crackpot. Sounds like he was taking the gig like some kind of calling for the sake of his ego. Such a shame what he did. From what I've seen, that was a really good kid he erased. It's also a shame folks like Sharpton are exploiting this as an opportunity to stoke race hate bs. Seriously, don't get caught up in the nonsense. I want justice for the kid too and I'm white.
9 - Glenn Contrarian
Dan -
No, the racial aspect isn't just important, it's crucial. Why? Because the sooner we can pound into the heads of millions of southern whites that racism really, truly isn't cool, the sooner they'll start holding themselves to a higher standard of conduct towards their fellow human beings who just happen to not look like them.
And that's how it's done - rub their noses in it till they start telling each other not to do it anymore.
10 - Igor
And still, after all this time, no one has secured the forensic evidence from the crime scene. No one has collected the gun, the witness evidence, etc.
11 - tampa guy
Just was reported on local radio that Zimmermann was on the ground being pummeled by Martin and screaming for help. Zimmermann had broken nose and a gash on his head that needed stitiches.
12 - Igor
A witness reported that it was Trayvon who was screaming for help (which one would expect if a large armed person attacked you) and that a cop told her to change her testimony.
And still no one has secured the evidence.
13 - tampa guy
Igor, that's totally incorrect. Martin's father listened to the tape and stated that was NOT his son hollering or screaming for help!
14 - John Lake
My instinct is to believe what the young girlfriend said. This "upscale" community in Florida is obsessed with its view of exclusivity.
15 - Igor
13-Tampa: where did Martins father say that?
16 - tampa guy
Igor - saw it here.
17 - tampa guy
witness Martin attacked Zimmerman
18 - Igor
The Examiner article contains NO substantiated facts, NO witness quotes or names. It's purely made-up by the writer. Worthless.
The Fox Tampa Bay article is just as bad. Maybe they come from the same unnamed source.
It's just gossip.
The cops blew it when they failed to secure the crime site and grab the evidence and testimony.
19 - Igor
And I found no place where Martins father said what Tampa Guy claims.
20 - John Lake
Just for the record, @16, that's the "Charleston Conservative Examiner", not the more widely recognized Herald Examiner. It appears to be some sort of online tabloid.
21 - Igor
My conclusion is that Tampa Guy and his 'sources' just made that stuff up.
22 - tampa guy
Facts sorta change things. Interesting that not a single media outlet is reporting anything like this. The information is from one of the officers who was among the first on the scene.
********************************************
You've seen the photos of Zimmerman and Martin superimposed next to each other in the articles that have been floating around. What you haven't seen is that Zimmerman was about 60 pounds heavier in that photo than he actually is. By the same token, the photos of Martin were taken several years ago when he was a young boy. Not at all what he was when he had this altercation with Zimmerman. At that time, he was a couple of months away from his 18th birthday and, according to the officer I spoke to, about the same size as me. I'm 6'4" and 250 lbs. Martin was definitely big enough to cause major problems for Zimmerman, not the small defenseless boy they are picturing him to be.
Here's a fact that makes a difference. Martin WAS in fact, beating the **** out of Zimmerman. Zimmerman's face was bruised and bleeding when he was interviewed by the police department. Martin had not a scratch on him other than the bullet hole in his chest. Witnesses who saw what happened consistently reported this and correctly described the clothing of the person on top doing the beating and the person on the bottom getting the **** beat out of him. It was very apparent that it was indeed Martin who was beating Zimmerman.
Absolutely, Zimmerman should not have confronted or followed Martin and yes, he put himself in that situation. By the same token, when Martin realized he was being followed, he didn't run off to escape, he found a hiding place and waited to confront Zimmerman. As Zimmerman came near, Martin popped out and began an aggressive confrontation with Zimmerman and attacked him. As he took him to ground and got on top of him and proceeded to beat him up, Zimmerman's shirt started to ride up and expose the pistol he was carrying. Martin saw it and went for it, threatening to kill Zimmerman with it. Zimmerman was able to get it first and shot Martin in the chest. That last is according to Zimmerman and partly corroborated by witnesses. The officer also told me that Zimmerman has told the same story several times since the shooting and has passed two polygraph tests with his version of what happened. He is also cooperating fully.
The Sanford police force submitted their case against Zimmerman as a third degree murder case to the state prosecutor but the state declined to prosecute because A), they felt it WAS self defense and B) it would have violated Zimmerman's rights because they lacked sufficient probable cause to arrest him. Also, once a citizen is arrested, it starts the clock ticking on the right to a speedy trial and they have 30 days to put a homicide case together which is not remotely possible.
23 - Igor
#22-tampa: again, I ask: where did you get this statement?
Lacking a citation, why should anyone think it's anything other than an invention, by you, for example?
24 - tampa guy
Igor - Just wait for the "official" determination of what transpired based on the facts, evidence and witnesses.
Right now, neither you, myself, or anyone else KNOWS what actually happened but I'm sure we all want justice to be served, whether it be that Zimmermann goes to jail or that he (Zimmermann) was prefectly legal in shooting Martin.
25 - Glenn Contrarian
tampa -
Can you not provide a link? All you have to do is to copy-and-paste the address line - don't even worry about the html coding. All we want to see is the reference, the proof of what you say.
You've got to be able to back up what you say. If you got it from a newspaper, then tell us which newspaper (and which day) it was and we'll look it up.
Just back up what you say with more than just your own words - that's all we're asking.