Neighbourhood Watch Kills Unarmed Black Kid

[Greenday]

It's fairly obvious to even a casual observer the difference between the two.

Well, this wasn't a casual observer, this was someone paying attention.

[Anthony K. S.]

Short cut? Yea, but not at night.

Um, what?

People don't take short cuts at night? Would you care to explain the reasoning behind that?

It's late at night, a person is in a hurry to get home, and decides to take a short cut that he hopes will get him home faster. Sounds plausible enough to me.

Some people would call it foolish to be walking through an unfamiliar area late at night, but that hardly means people won't do it.

None of those are valid reasons for walking around at night.

People don't get lost at night? One would think that it would be easier to get lost when it's dark than in daylight.

A person who just moved into the neighborhood wouldn't be going anywhere in it at nighttime? Perhaps it's less likely, since they might not yet know anybody in the area, or know where stores are located, but not impossible.

[Hyena Dandy]

No one just walks around for the S's and G's in my town, especially at night.

Did this take place in your town? Because if it didn't, it doesn't matter what people in your town do.

Well, this wasn't a casual observer, this was someone paying attention.

Yes... So he should have seen it even BETTER.

[bainsidhe]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...ef=mostpopular
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1332440.html
With update: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1332756.html

Quote: Chief Bill Lee of the Sanford Police Department on Thursday evening said the account given by Martin’s family and attorney is correct, that Zimmerman saw the young man walking home from the store. He said that Zimmerman did indeed call 911 and report a suspicious person, and that he was told not to follow him.

“For some reason he felt that Trayvon, the way that he was walking or appeared seemed suspicious to him,” Lee said. “He called this in and at one part of this initial call [the dispatcher] recommends him not to follow Trayvon. A police officer is on the way at that point.”

Lee said that Zimmerman instead followed Martin.

“I believe that Mr. Zimmerman was trying to, by his account, find an address to give the officers and also trying to keep Trayvon in eyesight.”

Zimmerman told the police that Martin noticed that he was being followed and asked, “what’s your problem?”

That's when a physical confrontation ensued, Lee said. And moments later, Martin was shot.

Lee said that Zimmerman has a legal permit to carry the weapon used in the shooting, and that he told police that he shot Martin in self-defense.

“He felt the need to defend himself,” Lee said. “ I don’t think it was his intent to go and shoot somebody” that night.

So they're still investigating, but have confirmed that Zimmerman was following the victim and that a confrontation ensued. One of the above links mentions Zimmerman was covered in grass and was bleeding, so it sounds like there was a struggle. Even so, using a gun in a fist fight? When you are the instigator? Yeah, I got no sympathy for this guy.

[Greenday]

Did this take place in your town? Because if it didn't, it doesn't matter what people in your town do.

If other people can use what happens in their town for their argument, why can't I?

[jackfaire]

Girl scouts and boy scouts? Ok, that's one excuse but why would girl scouts and boy scouts be walking around that late at night? They shouldn't be.

That's about the time my Boy Scout meetings let out and I would walk home from them since they happened at my old elementary school. Saying they shouldn't be out is the same as saying, "they shouldn't go to meetings"

I don't think this guy should be entitled to use the self defense argument especially since the kid was defending himself not the adult that knew what was going on.

Think of it from the kid's point of view. Your whole life your told, "Watch out for strange cars, don't talk to strangers, if a car is following you...etc" Basically this guy was acting like a sexual predator. Kid got scared and confronted the guy fight ensues and kid winds up dead thinking, "oh god what is he going to do with my body"

The adult did everything wrong and should fucking know better. The fact that he shot the kid cannot and should not be hand waved away. The whole point of neighborhood watch is to alert the police not think your being some sort of vigilante.

I don't care what this guy's motivations were for shooting the kid. Unless your saying the kid killed himself the adult is the responsible party. The adult put the kid in the unwinnable situation. Let some predator stalk you and possibly hurt you or try to scare him off.

[Gravekeeper]

The kid was walking home from 7/11. He was on a munchie run. Hence he had Skittles and a can of iced tea on him. He had a perfectly legitimate reason to be walking around at night.

A fight did clearly occur between the two, and it occurred on the lawn of a home. This means that in addition to escalating the situation by following the kid despite the police telling him not too ( and if you're carrying a concealed weapon, its your responsibility to not intentionally escalate situations to the point of of using it ).

The problem with this is it means that he got out of the car to confront the kid. Thats intentionally escalating the situation and then when the situation turned into the fight this guy appears to have been looking for, he shot the kid and claimed self defence.

[Andara Bledin]

The problem with this is it means that he got out of the car to confront the kid. Thats intentionally escalating the situation and then when the situation turned into the fight this guy appears to have been looking for, he shot the kid and claimed self defence.

This right here is what pins it on Zimmerman.

Not only do the Neighborhood Watch rules say to not engage, but so did the 9-1-1 dispatcher. And yet, this wannabe hero thought that he knew so much better than the professionals and would show everybody how much better he could do.

^-.-^

[Mytical]

Yep, shows he was LOOKING for trouble. Pretty much abusing the system to be a bully imo.

[BlaqueKatt]

Think of it from the kid's point of view. Your whole life your told, "Watch out for strange cars, don't talk to strangers, if a car is following you...etc" Basically this guy was acting like a sexual predator. Kid got scared and confronted the guy fight ensues and kid winds up dead thinking, "oh god what is he going to do with my body" The adult put the kid in the unwinnable situation. Let some predator stalk you and possibly hurt you or try to scare him off.

^THIS, how was the kid supposed to know the guy following him wasn't a predator? Driving around late at night, following a kid on a snack run, from the kid's point of view the adult had no reason to follow him, unless he was up to no good.

[lordlundar]

^THIS, how was the kid supposed to know the guy following him wasn't a predator? Driving around late at night, following a kid on a snack run, from the kid's point of view the adult had no reason to follow him, unless he was up to no good.

Considering what happened, I'm still willing to say the murderer is a predator.

[Greenday]

^THIS, how was the kid supposed to know the guy following him wasn't a predator? Driving around late at night, following a kid on a snack run, from the kid's point of view the adult had no reason to follow him, unless he was up to no good.

When I was a kid, I found the best way to deal with potential predators was to go up to them and talk to them too.

/sarcasm

[BlaqueKatt]

When I was a kid, I found the best way to deal with potential predators was to go up to them and talk to them too.

/sarcasm

turning around and asking "what's your problem" is not going up to them, it's letting them know you are aware of their presence, which is pretty much what kids are TOLD TO DO.

Scream loudly! For example, "Stop following me! I don't want anything to do with you! Go away!" Odds are that the person following you, whether they meant to do you harm or not, will leave you alone.

[bara]

Yeah, but in all fairness 17 year olds arent known for their renowned ability to make good snap decisions.

Unless that kid was attacking some one that guy had no business getting out of his car. Until that small minuscule fact is explained Im seeing this guy as the aggressor and possibly a murderer.

Even if this guy isnt charged for muder/manslaughter.. at the very least he faces a civil lawsuit from the family.

[Ree]

Well, since the police aren't pressing the issue, that would suggest he did do something wrong to get himself in that situation.

Oh, yes, because there is never any racism involved in decisions made by law enforcement as to whether an incident merits charges or investigation.

True, we don't have all the facts, since much of the incident has not been released for public record, but we do know some things:

Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee confirmed to WFTV that the dispatcher told Zimmerman to wait for officers to arrive.

Seems to me that he didn't do that.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/...od-has-/nLPgL/
George Zimmerman was arrested in 2005 for battery on a law enforcement officer.

The police allegedly told the victim's family that the guy had a "squeaky clean" record, and that was why they hadn't arrested him. Apparently, the charges were dropped, but the fact that he was in a violent situation before shows the he does have a tendency toward that type of behaviour. After all, those previous charges came about when he was being arrested for something else that isn't mentioned.
The victim wasn't exactly an angel, either, in that he was visiting his father because he had been suspended from school where he actually lives.
We don't know why he was suspended, but the police allegedly ran a check on him and came up with nothing.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/0...dade-teen.html
There was a struggle, and Zimmerman (the shooter) apparently ended up with a bloody nose and a head wound. Still, the 17 year old victim was armed only with a can of iced tea and a bag of skittles, and his own hands. The 28 year old shooter had the advantage in that he had a gun, and he ended up using it.
How on earth is that considered self defense?

No, we don't know exactly what happened, but it certainly reeks more than a little of racism.

If the kid had been white, and was walking through the same neighbourhood, I really very highly doubt we would even be seeing a news story such as this.