African-American teenager shot by neighborhood watch (UPDATE: Shooter now charged)

[amused]

Originally Posted by 2009ring

Not to get off on a tangent, but is a rape really any worse or better than a hate crime? Isn't a rape a hate crime by nature?

I fixed the punctuation, sorry.

[krushing]

I was reminded of this story Saturday. I was in my yard cutting grass when a pickup truck stopped. A huge biker looking guy jumped out screaming and raising holy hell that I threw a rock and cracked his windshield. He had a pair of handcuffs hanging from the rear view mirror which worried me. The guy was on my property and he was irate. My wife was gardening in the yard. I never once thought about reaching In my pocket and I wouldn't have as long as he didn't approach her or pull a weapon. I apologized even though I had my mower facing the other direction and I'm not sure I even threw a rock. Part of the reason I apologized is because of that mag in my pocket. I would have offered to buy him buy him a new glass if he would have calmed down and let me. I already was thinking we might hook it up in the middle of my yard but my gun is staying right in my pocket unless it's life or death. Thats a real world scenerio of what you do when you carry a hand gun and I lived it Saturday. It would not have been self defence just because the dude was scarry, and yelling and on my property. That's no reason to kill the dude. I gaurenteed you Zimmerman would have taken him out.

[silverback06]

rolandsmartin ‏ @rolandsmartin BREAKING NEWS: DOJ, FBI opens investigation into #trayvon Martin shooting

[Dragon]

WFTV also reported this week that the officer in charge of the scene when Trayvon was shot was also in charge of another controversial case. In 2010, a lieutenant’s son was videotaped attacking a black homeless man. The officer’s son also was not initially arrested in that case. He was later arrested when the television station broke the news.

Something is ****** wrong !!!!!!

Why is that police officer still on the force and why is he still in a command position ????

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/op...on-martin.html

[DavidM]

Trayvon Martin Exclusive: Friend on Phone with Teen Before Death Recalls Final Moments

By MATT GUTMAN (@mattgutmanABC) and SENI TIENABESO (@senijr_abc)
March 20, 2012


In the final moments of his life, Trayvon Martin was being hounded by a strange man on a cellphone who ran after him, cornered him and confronted him, according to the teenage girl whose call logs show she was on the phone with the 17-year-old boy in the moments before neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman shot him dead.

...

"He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man," Martin's friend said. "I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to run."

...

"Trayvon said, 'What, are you following me for,' and the man said, 'What are you doing here.' 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."

Trayvon Martin Exclusive: Friend on Phone with Teen Before Death Recalls Final Moments - ABC News




The night of Feb. 26, Zimmerman made a non-emergency call to police before fatally shooting Martin, in which he told a dispatcher, "This guy looks like he's up to no good, on drugs or something."

But law enforcement expert Rod Wheeler who listened to the tapes tells ABC News that Zimmerman, not Martin, sounded intoxicated in the police recordings of the 911 calls.

"When I listened to the 911 tape the first thing that came to my mind is this guy sounds intoxicated. Notice how he's slurring his words. We as trained law enforcement officers, we know how to listen for that right away and I think that's going to be an important element of this entire investigation," Wheeler said.

But Zimmerman was not tested.

Trayvon Martin Family Seeks FBI Investigation of Killing - ABC News

[amused]

Zimmerman and some cops need to be in a jail outside this jurisdiction . Preferably federal , and preferably yesterday . This is absolutely heinous , and getting worse by the revelation .



ETA :Conspiracy after the fact seems warranted , no? I see you lurking Det.Brees ...

[Dragon]

Sanford, Florida (CNN) -- A grand jury will help investigate the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed African-American teenager whose death has sparked numerous questions and controversy, officials in Florida said Tuesday.
The Seminole County Grand Jury will convene April 10, State Attorney Norm Wolfinger said in a statement.

http://us.cnn.com/2012/03/20/justice...html?hpt=hp_t1

From everything which has been published these last few days it really sounds like they need to investigate both the killer and the local PD

[Devildog]

I hope the members of the local police department serve life sentences.

[amused]

Originally Posted by amused

... I see you lurking Det.Brees ...

...and the thin blue line departs thread without comment .

[Dragon]

Another deadly case involving yet another son of a Sanford police officer.

Fatal bullet hit teenager in back, records reveal - Orlando Sentinel

[Claw]

Originally Posted by krushing

I was reminded of this story Saturday. I was in my yard cutting grass when a pickup truck stopped. A huge biker looking guy jumped out screaming and raising holy hell that I threw a rock and cracked his windshield. He had a pair of handcuffs hanging from the rear view mirror which worried me. The guy was on my property and he was irate. My wife was gardening in the yard. I never once thought about reaching In my pocket and I wouldn't have as long as he didn't approach her or pull a weapon. I apologized even though I had my mower facing the other direction and I'm not sure I even threw a rock. Part of the reason I apologized is because of that mag in my pocket. I would have offered to buy him buy him a new glass if he would have calmed down and let me. I already was thinking we might hook it up in the middle of my yard but my gun is staying right in my pocket unless it's life or death. Thats a real world scenerio of what you do when you carry a hand gun and I lived it Saturday. It would not have been self defence just because the dude was scarry, and yelling and on my property. That's no reason to kill the dude. I gaurenteed you Zimmerman would have taken him out.

While I do agree with your post, I do have a question.

So you feel the need pack heat while you are cutting the grass in your own yard? Jeez. I wonder what kind of arsenal and/or convoy you bring with you if you ever have to run an errand in the bad part of town.

[Oye]

Originally Posted by Dragon

Why is that police officer still on the force and why is he still in a command position ????

it's a shame that I don't think this answer is really all that complicated

[amused]

Originally Posted by Oye

it's a shame that I don't think this answer is really all that complicated

Yet another in a seemingly endless parade of brackish GoodOlBoy ponds invaded by the fresh water of the modern world . The sad part is that the process is still ongoing and very much open ended at this late and supposedly enlightened date . Apparently globalization is a slow process .

[JimEverett]

This may have been posted already:

The Controversial Florida Law at the Heart of the Trayvon Martin Case - TIME

[Semper]

I will admit I normally take the police officers side in almost every argument, but I'm dumbfounded here. I understand that police present their evidence and the DA makes the decision to arrest are not (I think). This man belongs in jail. There is no way I can see it any other way. I always like to wait and get the full story, but it seems the more that comes out, it is all against Zimmerman.