Justice Department Investigation Is Sought in Florida Teenager’s Shooting Death

[alp227]

Source: NYT

Nearly three weeks after an unarmed teenager was killed in a small city north of Orlando, stirring an outcry, a few indisputable facts remain: the teenager, who was black, was carrying nothing but a bag of Skittles, some money and a can of iced tea when he was shot. The neighborhood crime watch volunteer who got out of his car and shot him is white and Hispanic. He has not been arrested and is claiming self-defense.

Beyond that, however, little is clear about the Feb. 26 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, 17.

As criticism of the police investigation mounts, so too do the calls for swift action in a case with heavy racial overtones. Protests grow larger each week, and lawyers for the family are now asking the Department of Justice to intervene. The case also brings into sharp focus Florida’s self-defense laws, which give people who feel threatened greater latitude in defending themselves than most states.

The police in of Sanford, where the shooting took place, are not revealing details of the investigation. Late Friday night, after weeks of pressure, the police played the 911 calls in the case for the family and gave copies to the news media. On the recordings, one shot, an apparent warning or miss, is heard, followed by a voice begging or pleading, and a cry. A second shot is then heard, and the pleading stops.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/us/justice-department-investigation-is-sought-in-florida-teenagers-shooting-death.html

[MADem]

1. The DOJ needs to get up into this--there will be no perception of justice otherwise.

The fact that that massive guy with the gun is trying to hide behind that bullshit self-defense law boggles the mind. What, was he afraid the kid would shove the Skittles up his nose or something? This thing smells like a coverup to me. What does that Zimmerman creep have on the local cops? Why won't they do the right thing? Something STINKS:

Mary Cutcher and her roommate said they heard Trayvon pleading. Then they heard a gunshot. They rushed outside and saw Mr. Zimmerman standing over the teenager. Ms. Cutcher said she did not think it was self-defense and added that the police took only a brief statement, despite her efforts to go into detail.

[cstanleytech]

9. I dont know if its a coverup or incompetence on the police departs part however

I do agree with you about the DOJ needing to come in and look it over.

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. It's a culture that just resorts to cover-ups.

They've gotten away with all kinds of things in this county.

[Blue_Tires]

29. just plain old racial profiling...

"Neighborhood watch killed a black teen in a hoodie? Well, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt because the teen MUST have been doing SOMETHING drug/gang/gun related..."

[movonne]

2. This is a very troubling story...

[burrowowl]

3. K&R

The FEDS should look into this.

[Warpy]

4. Florida is as Jim Crow as it gets in much of that state.

The Feds really need to oversee this one. Zimmerman needs to be off the street.

My guess is that the kid got mouthy when Zimmerman challenged him for walking while black. This is why vigilantes, especially those with CCW permits, are a very, very bad idea.

[anti-alec]

35. He needs to be charged with first degree murder - depraved indifference.

And carries the death penalty.

For George Zimmerman, this applies, and while I am anti-death penalty, this scumbag needs to be removed from the gene pool.

[lunasun]

38. Florida affords people who act in self-defense greater protection than most states, allowing them to

act on it
This man has not been arrested

If you have not done so as yet, please sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-17-year-old-trayvon-martin

Grab a Justice for Trayvon button from the Facebook Page and join the FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeforTrayvon

[nofurylike]

5. thank you for posting this, alp227. rec. nt

[SunSeeker]

6. The 911 tapes describe a cold-blooded murder.

"On the recordings, one shot, an apparent warning or miss, is heard, followed by a voice begging or pleading, and a cry. A second shot is then heard, and the pleading stops."

No wonder the Sanford police did not want them released. This is horrid.

[Dragonfli]

7. The Justice Department is currently on as rogue mission to jail marij Grannies with cancer

Obama can do nothing to stop them, he also has no power to ask them to investigate this as they are busy following their own agenda.

What most people don't know is how little power a president has, it is really just a figurehead position with some photo op perks.


He is completely powerless so we obviously must beseech Holder himself, the real man in power.

[vaberella]

32. So true...

It's all about Congress and the AG. Hopefully this guy, Zimmerman, pays for his crime.

[secondvariety]

8. The Chief says he welcomes a Justice Dept. investagation.

I'll bet he does. Heaven forbid the Sanford police dept. actually has to put some effort into the case.

[Blue_Tires]

28. I don't want Sanford police to have anything to do with this

they've been trying to cover this up since day one

[MsFlorida]

10. 911 call link

I heard the 911 call, I was up very early. It appears that now they are censoring the call on the channel 13 news. I heard it before it was censored. He murdered that young man. here's the censored link

http://cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/sports/video.html?clip=http://static.cfnews13.com/newsvideo/cfn/zimmerman-censured-0317.flv

the uncensored calls can be found here on the sanford florida website:



http://www.sanfordfl.gov/index.html

[yardwork]

11. Even the censored link makes Zimmerman sound bad, imo.

The censored link has the call from Zimmerman in which he describes the young man he murdered as "looking like he's on drugs, up to no good, something wrong with him, etc." The Sanford police tested the body for drugs, alcohol, etc. and found nothing. The young man was holding a bag of Skittles candy and an iced tea. How suspicious can a person holding a cup of iced tea look?

It's clear to me that Zimmerman was making things up to justify shooting another human being.

[yardwork]

12. I just listened to all the tapes. A child is screaming in terror and then goes silent after gunshot.

The 911 tapes by witnesses - and the horrifying howls of terror from a child in the background - are the record of MURDER.

[csziggy]

13. Listening to the 911 calls on the Sanford site

The people are all so concerned. The one that really got to me was the next to the last in the list - the older woman who is so upset that someone is dead and that she didn't do anything to help him. That poor woman really needs some counseling. If I remember correctly, one of the witnesses was treated at the scene - I wonder if she is the one?

ETA - at the end of the call, the 911 operator sets up to send a victim advocate - the operator stayed on the line with this lady for a very long time. I think he was very concerned about her.

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. There was a lot of dead air in the 911 calls on the Sanford website.

[anti-alec]

36. Is there a 911 transcript avaliable.

So I can read it?

[MsFlorida]

16. Deflection and covering up are not alien to this police department

This is the same police department where one of the cop's sons assaulted a homeless man and it was caught on video. It took weeks before that idiot was charged.

Florida justice is a scary thing, it only exists for some.

[yardwork]

19. Is that the same police officer who was on the scene at the Trayvon shooting?

I read that one of the cops first responding to the scene had been in trouble before.

This stinks to high heaven. I am so angry right now.

[vaberella]

30. I remember that shit. Those kids put that shit on youtube.

Wasn't it two boys. And they assaulted the homeless guy and you can see him screaming for mercy and they kept at it. Those kids were posting it on youtube or some sort of streaming site. Little fuckers. Florida is a state that needs to fall into the ocean. I seriously hate that state.

[secondvariety]

39. Me too

Unfortunately, I'm stuck here for three more years. I can't think of any state government who hates it's citizens (except the influential, of course) more.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. I just figured out why Trayvon may have been looking at the houses,

and why he would have walked to the SUV.

He probably lost his way and became confused, since he was new to the community. I'm not sure how that development is built, but in Florida lots of developments are built to the same specs. Especially townhouses. He could have been walking to the SUV to ask for help and directions, but once he figured out that Zimmerman was stranger danger, he ran.

[MsFlorida]

18. He was just here visiting at his father's fiance's house

He was just visiting, he's from Miami. He's a good kid and now his life has been ended by a murdering moron.

[yardwork]

20. That's a very good point. He may have been lost.

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. He could have even thought to ask to borrow a cellphone.

[vaberella]

31. Not just same specs the houses are exact models.

My aunt lives in a gated community in Florida for the 5O and up people. Those houses all looked alike. The first week my sister and I were there we were terrified of getting lost in that area because it was so easy to get lost. All of them looked alike and let's just say she was one of the very very very few Black people in that community---which made us weary. It is more than possible and 100% possible he was lost.

[FarCenter]

45. Google map Oregon Avenue, Sanford, FL

Oregon Avenue runs east from Reinhardt Road and then makes a 90 degree turn to the south, becoming South Oregon Avenue. The Retreat at Twin Lakes complex appears to be the subdivision southwest of the bend, curcumscribed by Retreat View Circle.

It appears to be a gated complex of high density condos, but the security isn't very good, since there are breaks in the perimeter.

The killing appears to have happened in this complex. The kid must have walked about a mile each way to the 7-Elevens on West 1st Street, or to the 7-Eleven over a mile east West 25th Street near Airport Boulevard.

The buildings appear to be virtually identical in Google, so it is easy to imagine that he couldn't find the right condo. See http://www.407re.com/RetreatatTwinLakes for a picture.

On the other hand, it's not a very large place. 46 buildings, closely packe, with about 5 residences per building.

[The Backlash Cometh]

47. It only took a few minutes of confusion

to put Trayvon in Zimmerman's sights.

[Blue_Tires]

46. Maybe he was trying to lose the weirdo who was following him

maybe he cut through some yards, or tried to mis-direct him by lingering in someone else's driveway to 'pretend' he lived there instead...

If you're being followed, the LAST thing you want to do is lead that person right to your doorstep...

[The Backlash Cometh]

48. That's another possibility.

[spin]

51. Quite possibly ...

Zimmerman might have following the teenager in his car and driving at a very slow rate. If someone did this to me while I was walking down the street, I would be very concerned.

[NeoConsSuck]

21. It seems Sanford, FL has quite a history...

This is just going back to 2011:

Suspect in videotaped beating surrenders: NAACP pushes for investigation of ‘hate crime;’ Police Chief Brian Tooley relieved of duty

Read more: The Sanford Herald - Suspect in videotaped beating surrenders NAACP pushes for investigation of ‘hate crime ’ Police Chief Brian Tooley relieved of duty

http://mysanfordherald.com/view/full_story/10875543/article--Suspect-in-videotaped-beating-surrenders-NAACP%E2%80%88pushes-for-investigation-of-%E2%80%98hate-crime-%E2%80%99-Police-Chief-Brian-Tooley-relieved-of-duty?

[The Backlash Cometh]

23. Tell me about it.

There's a lot about this county that needs to be exposed.

[saras]

24. It doesn't need to be exposed, merely stopped. That doesn't always require publicity

[Comrade Grumpy]

25. Apparently, in Sanford, Florida, it does.

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. On the contrary.

This county would straighten up the day it realized that secrecy will no longer be tolerated.

[ljm2002]

26. So let's see now...

...a teenager is walking down the street minding his own business, when a "neighborhood watch chief" (self-appointed IIRC) drives by, gets out of his car, initiates a confrontation, and then shoots and kills the unarmed youth in the resulting struggle. He claims the shooting was self-defense and so far, law enforcement seems to be buying it.

Now just imagine if the youth had been a young white man and the neighborhood watch chief had been a black man. I'm sure that law enforcement would be buying "self-defense".

Self-defense generally presumes that the other person initiated the attack. Yes I know there are gray areas. But really, this is ridiculous on its face. At the very least the man needs to be charged and tried. Let a jury decide whether it was in fact self-defense. But to not even bring him in, after he killed that teenage boy, is outrageous.

[vaberella]

33. I can't understand why they didn't hear the 911 tapes.

Those tapes paint a wholely different picture. That guy committed cold blooded murder.

[libodem]

34. The way this is being treated vs all the concern for the unborn is sickening

[yardwork]

37. I was thinking the same exact thing.

[1monster]

40. Having listened to some of the 911 tapes, there is little question in

my mind that this was murder. The kid was screaming for help for at least 30 seconds before the gun shot. The killer, Zimmerman, by his own account chased him when the boy started running from him.

[.99center]

41. Neighbor say's “I fit the stereotype he emailed around,”

Licensed to carry a firearm and a student of criminal justice, Zimmerman went door-to-door asking residents to be on the lookout, specifically referring to young black men who appeared to be outsiders, and warned that some were caught lurking, neighbors said.

On at least two prior occasions, the Sanford Police Department was accused of giving favorable treatment to relatives of officers involved in violent encounters with blacks.

In 2010, police waited seven weeks to arrest a lieutenant’s son who was caught on video sucker-punching a homeless black man.

In 2005, two security guards — one the son of a longtime Sanford police officer and the other a department volunteer — killed a black man they said was trying to run them over. Black leaders complained of a lackluster investigation. The guards ultimately were acquitted.


Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/17/2700249/shooter-of-trayvon-martin-a-habitual.html#storylink=cpy

The police let this vigilante try to do their job. One more example in the long list of police corruption in how far they'll go trying to protect what they see as their own.

[Blue_Tires]

42. so no matter the outcome of the Martin case

The Sanford police chief needs to be canned and that entire department needs a housecleaning...

i suspected from the start that there was a real reason (other than gross incompetence) why these cops absolutely refused to investigate until the national media came to town

[jpak]

43. In FL , you can kill a black kid if you think he was a "threat" but cannot vote without photo ID

GOP Upside Down Douchebaggery World

yup

[.99center]

44. My heads up side down after reading the neighbors comments

He openly stereotyped African-American's around his community as being thugs and yet they don't see the racism in it.

[Uncle Joe]

49. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, alp.

[spin]

50. If Zimmerman confronted the teenager and a heated argument started

Zimmerman might have pulled his weapon to gain leverage.

This is illegal in Florida.

Use of Deadly Force for Lawful Self-Defense

***snip***

Q. What if someone uses threatening language to me so that I am afraid for my life or safety?

A. Verbal threats are not enough to justify the use of deadly force. There must be an overt act by the person which indicates that he immediately intends to carry out the threat. The person threatened must reasonably believe that he will be killed or suffer serious bodily harm if he does not immediately take the life of his adversary.

Q. What if I point my handgun at someone but don't use it?

A. Never display a handgun to gain "leverage" in an argument. Threatening someone verbally while possessing a handgun, even licensed, will land you in jail for three years. Even if the gun is broken or you don't have bullets, you will receive the mandatory three-year sentence if convicted. The law does not allow any possibility of getting out of jail early.
http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/weapons/self_defense.html

If this was the way the situation went down, the teenager might have feared for his life with good reason and could have attempted to disarm Zimmerman with tragic results.

In my opinion, with the information that I have, Zimmerman did not follow police instructions and left his vehicle. Therefore he initiated the confrontation.

This incident deserves a thorough investigation and I feel if there is any reason to believe that Zimmerman was at fault, he should face a jury.