You mean he really didn't go to the 7-11 but instead stole skittles and ice tea from someone's house while talking to his GF?
thought experiment. Trayvon is in-fact the thief, and Zimmerman killed him.
What would happen?
Is that state law? Couldn't cities have their own additional laws similar to states that have fireworks laws prohibiting their use in the city but legal outside city limits?
My family and friends know better than to viciously attack somebody, we might get shot if we do.
Don't want to get shot? Don't attack somebody. And even more so stand over and beat them on the ground as they scream for their life.
My family and friends know better than to viciously attack somebody, we might get shot if we do.
Don't want to get shot? Don't attack somebody. And even more so stand over and beat them on the ground as they scream for their life.
Correct. Nor is it reason or grounds to commit felony assault on Zimmerman.
Even girlfriends call/story supports this.
"what's your problem" Martin says
"Who are you and what are you doing" Zimmerman says
WHAM! Martin starts viciously beating zimmerman. I want to see the blood stains on the tea bottle.
Has nobody considered that Martin simply didn't like hispanics and his racism forced him to viciously beat a hispanic male? The tensions between the two in florida are well known.
SANFORD – Embattled Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr. has stepped down from his post "temporarily" this afternoon, brought down by a firestorm of criticism over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old.
"My role as the leader of this agency has become a distraction from the investigation," Lee said in a brief statement. "It is apparent that my involvement in this matter is overshadowing the process.
"Therefore, I have come to the decision that I must temporarily relieve myself from the position as police chief for the city of Sanford," Lee said.
"I do this in the hopes of restoring some semblance of calm to a city which has been in turmoil for several weeks."
City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr., said the city was taking the proper steps to ensure the investigation is sound, and the judicial process can run its course.
"What the city wants most for the family of Trayvon Martin is justice," he said, adding that city officials would hold regular news briefings to update the press on developments in the case.
Lee has drawn a firestorm of criticism since the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old.
Lee, 52, has insisted his agency did a fair and thorough investigation, but black leaders, those in Sanford as well as NAACP national president Benjamin Todd Jealous, said he had to go.
That's because he would not arrest George Zimmerman, a crime watch volunteer who shot and killed Trayvon Feb. 26 as the teenager walked through his gated community.
Zimmerman had called police, identifying Trayvon as suspicious. Zimmerman got out of his SUV and followed the Miami teenager. The two got into a fight and Zimmerman shot him in the chest, claiming self-defense.
Lee said he could not lawfully arrest Zimmerman because evidence backs up what he told investigators.
That decision has sparked a backlash of outrage. Hundreds of thousands of people have called for Zimmerman's arrest. It started with Trayvon's family but now includes members of Congress.
Protesters have staged rallies in Sanford, New York, Miami and Tallahassee. One, featuring Al Sharpton, is scheduled for 7 p.m. today in downtown Sanford and is expected to draw thousands.
Last week, police officially handed over the case to the State Attorney's Office, leaving it to prosecutors to decide whether to charge Zimmerman with manslaughter or some other crime.
A grand jury is scheduled to review case evidence April 10.
The Sanford City Commission does not have the authority to fire the chief, but last night, in a special meeting, city commissioners handed down a 3-2 no confidence vote.
Lee has said little about the case, standard operating procedure for a pending investigation.
He had been in the job less than a year.
He grew up in Sanford and for 27 years worked as a deputy at theSeminole County Sheriff's Office, where he headed the SWAT team.
Broken record still ignoring the context of the whole encounter. But that's to be expected.
This interview with his close friend, who is Hispanic, would seem to refute that - http://www.wftv.com/videos/news/interview-with-trayvon-martins-friend/vGb7p/
Of course, I don't expect that to stop your endless conjecture about a "vicious assault" in which the "ghetto stomp" may or may not have been used.
No, Florida does not allow local modifications of State Laws. But in this case I was on the jury the charge was separated since it was in a crowd neighborhood and the kids present, the shooter was excoriated for the killing, but found guilty of discharging a fire arm inside the city limits because it endangered other bystanders. The section Lowdo noted would normally be applied to law officers, firing in regulated gun ranges, and self defense in a building/home as the judge pointed out. And since most of the SYG shootings have taken place in residences, it never a question.
This is sad, a great cop and person screwed by the politics of situation. I only hope that this temporary, but I suspect it will not be.
I don't know Chief Lee and I have nothing against him, but I'd say his one fault is a failure to insist on a degree of professionalism in his department to treat every crime and every victim equally, no matter the initial impressions. Had the police initially conducted the investigation with no preconceived notions as to the relative status of Martin and Zimmerman, we would know a great deal more and Lee would have a much smaller problem with the City Council. The City Council should not be expected to defend a Police Chief for sloppy police work.Chief Lee is a great guy and a outstanding cop. He is being thrown under the bus for political expediency. He was a captain in the Seminole County Sheriff's office for 20+ years, and always had the respect of his subordinates. His one fault (if it is a fault) in this case was he expected more support out of the Sanford city council. But that pile of scum would sell their children if it insured their reelection.
They have no authority to order someone to do something anyway so what's the point? That does bring up a good point though for all those saying he was told not to follow him..."We don't need you to do that" is far from telling him NOT to do something...not that it matters.One thing that does spring to mind is that 9-1-1 operators need to be trained to replace "We don't need you to do that" with "We need you to NOT do that."
I appreciate your insight as a local.
That being said, it does appear this investigation was very poorly handled, and so this may be one of those situations where the Chief needs to say "the buck stops here." He probably wasn't personally involved in the investigation immediately after the shooting, but in a relatively small police department he presumably was, or should have been, monitoring it after that. Your comments on the politics of the city council are interesting and he may well be just a relatively innocent stuckee for blame, but that is one of the costs of being in leadership when the chips are down.
They have no authority to order someone to do something anyway so what's the point? That does bring up a good point though for all those saying he was told not to follow him..."We don't need you to do that" is far from telling him NOT to do something...not that it matters.
Both those things are true, but generally, if a 9-1-1 operator tells someone forcefully to do or not do something, they comply. In this case that compliance would almost certainly have saved Martin's life since we've seen nothing to indicate he would have fought a cop. Of course, in another case that might well backfire; if someone legally armed was told not to follow a suspicious person and that person then committed a murder that the caller might have stopped, the 9-1-1 operator would be taking the heat. No guarantees in life, but generally speaking, unless someone is being killed or raped it's probably best to wait for the professionals.They have no authority to order someone to do something anyway so what's the point? That does bring up a good point though for all those saying he was told not to follow him..."We don't need you to do that" is far from telling him NOT to do something...not that it matters.
They BOTH made choices that directly or indirectly escalated the encounter...and it doesn't matter how that operator phrased a statement that had no binding on a persons actions, not that it didn't have real world implicationsIt matters because it shows Mr. Zimmerman made choices that directly or indirectly escalated the encounter in to one of a deadly nature.
Had Mr. Zimmerman made the choice to follow the kid then very likely Trayvon Martin would still be alive and this thread would not exist and Chief Lee wouldn't have temporarily stepped down. Interesting that a choice that someone could make a statement "...not that it matters." about can have real and irrevocable results.
Both those things are true, but generally, if a 9-1-1 operator tells someone forcefully to do or not do something, they comply. In this case that compliance would almost certainly have saved Martin's life since we've seen nothing to indicate he would have fought a cop. Of course, in another case that might well backfire; if someone legally armed was told not to follow a suspicious person and that person then committed a murder that the caller might have stopped, the 9-1-1 operator would be taking the heat. No guarantees in life, but generally speaking, unless someone is being killed or raped it's probably best to wait for the professionals.
They BOTH made choices that directly or indirectly escalated the encounter...and it doesn't matter how that operator phrased a statement that had no binding on a persons actions, not that it didn't have real world implications
Yes it would have likely saved his life...hindsight and all I believe Z wishes every moment since then that he had waited.Both those things are true, but generally, if a 9-1-1 operator tells someone forcefully to do or not do something, they comply. In this case that compliance would almost certainly have saved Martin's life since we've seen nothing to indicate he would have fought a cop. Of course, in another case that might well backfire; if someone legally armed was told not to follow a suspicious person and that person then committed a murder that the caller might have stopped, the 9-1-1 operator would be taking the heat. No guarantees in life, but generally speaking, unless someone is being killed or raped it's probably best to wait for the professionals.
Believe what you want but color has nothing to do with my views. You may hold a bias but I don't...just because the kid was black doesn't mean anyone not ready to lynch the guy who shot him is racist no matter how that conflicts with your realityI'm sure if the victim was white you'd have a different view.
This interview with his close friend, who is Hispanic, would seem to refute that - http://www.wftv.com/videos/news/interview-with-trayvon-martins-friend/vGb7p/
Of course, I don't expect that to stop your endless conjecture about a "vicious assault" in which the "ghetto stomp" may or may not have been used.