Neighborhood watch captain kills black teen - doesn't get arrested

JonJon;4467651 said:
I've also listened to the the audio tapes, and the Stanford claims of "evidence" that Zimmerman acted in self defense is totally bogus.
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Maybe he's diabetic and the kid was in the process of forcing skittles down his throat?

Seriously though, I wonder if this "self defense" claim would work for gang members.

You know, go into some rival gang's turf, instigate some sort of confrontation and then shoot your rivals in self defense.
 
Hoofbite;4467801 said:
Maybe he's diabetic and the kid was in the process of forcing skittles down his throat?

Seriously though, I wonder if this "self defense" claim would work for gang members.

You know, go into some rival gang's turf, instigate some sort of confrontation and then shoot your rivals in self defense.
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Maybe if they had permits for their guns it would, but I'm guessing the vast majority do not. :D
 
TheCount;4468068 said:
the cops took no action in a situation where someone was killed.
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That is the part that bothers me the most .... it goes against normal police procedure.
 
zrinkill;4468075 said:
That is the part that bothers me the most .... it goes against normal police procedure.
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I spoke with a friend of mine that lives in Orlando, which is about 20 miles south of Sanford, and he said that the Sanford Police Department has a long history of questionable procedures and is known for being a department with racially charged motives. He actually was not surprised that the SPU failed to follow standard procedure. He said there is something much deeper going on than what is being uncovered. A cesspool maybe? Now this is my first time even discussing race here, but I felt it was worth mentioning the views of someone that lives near that community.
 
JonJon;4468172 said:
I spoke with a friend of mine that lives in Orlando, which is about 20 miles south of Sanford, and he said that the Sanford Police Department has a long history of questionable procedures and is known for being a department with racially charged motives. He actually was not surprised that the SPU failed to follow standard procedure. He said there is something much deeper going on than what is being uncovered. A cesspool maybe? Now this is my first time even discussing race here, but I felt it was worth mentioning the views of someone that lives near that community.
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I guess it's possible, but I wouldn't go so far as to bypass simple incompetence to jump to a massive coverup. It's easily just as likely that they were just fools and believed what the guy told them - Drunk hoodlum up to no good in neighborhood, I questioned him and he tried to kill me so I shot him.
 
With the national attention this recently got, I'm surprised there hasn't been an investigation into the entire thing by some higher authority. (internal affairs or something)

Although, there might be one brewing right now.
 
Sam I Am;4468381 said:
With the national attention this recently got, I'm surprised there hasn't been an investigation into the entire thing by some higher authority. (internal affairs or something)

Although, there might be one brewing right now.
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The family is trying to get the FBI involved... I'm not sure that's how this sort of thing works though.
 
WoodysGirl;4468671 said:
The Martin case had been turned over to the Seminole County State Attorney’s Office. Martin’s family has asked for the FBI to investigate.

Link to a general timeline of reports: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/20...out-about-trayvon-martin-1995-2012/?mobile=nc
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Someone posted on that page on their facebook wall or whatever that they were going to send a bag of skittles to the police chief.

I thought that was kind of interesting. I usually don't really think too much about people who say or do that kind of stuff, just kind of seems childish but in this situation it almost seems fitting because the victim was a child.
 
TheCount;4468524 said:
The family is trying to get the FBI involved... I'm not sure that's how this sort of thing works though.
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The FBI has to see some kind of gross negligence in the police work of the department, or it has to be a crime involving terrorism, etc.

The family should be writing to Congress and demanding a Congressional investigation. Good way to get the FBI involved and/or the Justice Department if the investigation determines that there is definitely some kind of fault in this case, which they almost unquestionably would find.

This is going to get worse before it gets better, in my opinion.
 
casmith07;4468695 said:
The FBI has to see some kind of gross negligence in the police work of the department, or it has to be a crime involving terrorism, etc.

The family should be writing to Congress and demanding a Congressional investigation. Good way to get the FBI involved and/or the Justice Department if the investigation determines that there is definitely some kind of fault in this case, which they almost unquestionably would find.

This is going to get worse before it gets better, in my opinion.
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There is gross negligence, check out that link that WG posted. Internal affairs should have already been onsite by now IMO.
 
Sam I Am;4468699 said:
There is gross negligence, check out that link that WG posted. Internal affairs should have already been onsite by now IMO.
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Oh I know. I'm just explaining what the standard is for the FBI to basically step in and take over.

The case is already at the State Attorney's office, now, though, so the law enforcement function is "complete" for the time being, moving it to the review and charging phase.

Now this will really explode if the State Attorney's office doesn't come back with charges.
 
Hoofbite;4468686 said:
Someone posted on that page on their facebook wall or whatever that they were going to send a bag of skittles to the police chief.

I thought that was kind of interesting. I usually don't really think too much about people who say or do that kind of stuff, just kind of seems childish but in this situation it almost seems fitting because the victim was a child.
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I saw that comment, too and the other one from a lady in Chicago sounded like she was in the legal field in some way.

Dana N. Scott · Chicago, Illinois
Even with FL's "stand your ground" statute, which makes the use of deadly force justified without retreating from an aggressor, this fact pattern does not support this affirmative defense. The aggressor here was Zimmerman. It isn't the law that is at fault here, its the application, or lack thereof, of that law that's the issue. Even if Zimmerman honestly believed a crime was in progress, "unnecessary killing to prevent an unlawful act" is a crime under Florida state law too. As a matter of public policy, this man should not be let off without a trial.
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I wonder if Zimmerman had balls to confront this teen if he didn't have a gun on him?
 
03EBZ06;4468774 said:
I wonder if Zimmerman had balls to confront this teen if he didn't have a gun on him?
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It makes it appear premeditated.

I would argue it as a prosecutor too - there's a reasonable amount of time from the following/stalking to the shooting to suggest that Zimmerman possessed a pre-determined intent to kill.
 
I just thought I'd add an additional perspective to this.

Zimmerman's family is claiming he is half White and half Hispanic. They are saying that he cannot possibly be racist because he grew up in a multiracial family.

I am half white and half Hispanic. However I look white, I act white, and I grew up in a very "white" household. I took three years is Spanish classes and still can't speak it correctly; I have "white" tongue. Many do not believe that I am half Hispanic, and as a kid I experienced severe discrimination from "full" Hispanic kids, as I grew up in a heavily Hispanic city. Even the Hispanic side of my family is heavily Americanized, as really the only evidence were the tamales around Christmas time. I even remember many times when my grandma would berate a cashier or waitress or someone, in Spanish, for speaking Spanish to her instead of English.

If a police officer were to stop and question me, he would not believe that I am half Hispanic, and would approach me as a white man. I know, because I have asked.

So it is very easy for me to understand how Zimmerman is identified as white, and that he was treated by the police as white. It is also easy for me to believe that Zimmerman had racial issues and discriminatory thoughts, even though he is biracial. My best friend was black, and I do not consider myself racist. However, when I am treated a certain way by Hispanics, it is hard for me to not think about bad memories when I was a kid.

Zimmerman should be arrested and put before a trial of his peers to be judged for his crimes. There is due process for a reason. Police are not the judgement. They are the protectors. They have failed to protect.
 
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