Posted on 03/17/2012 9:53:56 AM PDT by redreno
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) -- Calls made to police show that a black teenager was terrified as he tried to get away from the white neighborhood watch volunteer who shot him, and that the volunteer was not defending himself as he has claimed, the teen's family told The Associated Press on Saturday.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Didja read post #51? There’s also a witness that supports most of that version. Zimmerman may be sacrificed on the altar of diversity and political correctness but I’m betting it went down more or less like he said it did.
And there’s NOTHING on ANY of those 911 tapes to dispute Zimmerman’s version.
And you cannot discern that accuracy is not the issue, it is biased intent to influence that is the issue.
I wouldn’t believe a word from anyone who emails the Huffington Post.
(yawn)
Would you believe someone who wrote to CBS?
This is one case where some self-appointed lawman with a chip on his shoulder assumed wrongdoing with no evidence to back it up, then killed someone who was actually innocent of wrongdoing. I’m all for self-defense, but this is not a case of legitimate self-defense. He deserves prison.
I don't believe much of what anyone says anyone, until it's verifiable independently.
HOA meetings are usually legally required to keep minutes, so if what the lefty's claim is true, it will be supported by evidence.
that said, I could see a lefty wanting to screw a law-and-order, gun-owning activist, and they rarely have any scruples when doing so.
Me, I'll wait for the trial.
Sophisticates like you can trust local news opinion pieces and the NBPP.
I think the real question is who do we believe?
Two competing scenarios have been presented. Each of them seem rather unlikely in some ways, which is why this type of situation is quite rare.
We pay some people (the police) to gather evidence to determine what story is more likely to be correct. In this case, the police say that all the evidence is consistent with Zimmerman's story of self defense.
Martin's side is enraged that a young life was destroyed, but they have no real evidence to dispute what Zimmerman says. They simply throw down the race card. The police are racist. Zimmerman must be a racist.
To aggravate this, the MSM love to play the race card because it fits their premise of a racist America.
It is sad and tragic that a young man was killed, but from 15 to 25 is the most dangerous period in life for young males.
We don’t know what happened physically between the two. Not even the eyewitnesses seem to be sure what happened.
All we know is a “self-appointed neighborhood watchman” became suspicious of a teen in his neighborhood, pursued him, confronted him, and shot and killed him. We also know that the teen was unarmed and that he hadn’t committed a crime, and all accounts so far say he had no criminal record.
OTOH, reports state that the “watchman” himself had been in trouble with the police.
Remember the story of Joe Horn, the man in Texas who shot and killed two men who’d just broken into his neighbor’s home? For the record, I was completely in support of what he did. But, this story is quite different. This teen hadn’t committed a crime. For all we know, he might’ve been afraid of the man following him. He himself might’ve been acting in self-defense. Whatever the case, he cannot tell us his side of the story now.
So far, reports say that he had no criminal record. But, Zimmerman was in trouble with the police a few years ago. See post #17.
Actually, we do not seem to know much at all about the “confronted” part.
We also do not know exactly what happened between the two.
The young black man ended up dead, so he is not telling us his side of the story.
The young Hispanic man called the police, and the police tell us that his story about self defense is completely consistent with the physical evidence.
Their histories suggest the possibility of aggression from each.
When confronted with conflicting stories, it is usually best to go with the physical evidence.
In fact, we do not even have conflicting stories here. We only have one side, and that is consistent with the physical evidence.
Does anyone think that it is out of the realm of possibility that Trayvon Martin attacked George Zimmerman without legal justification?
Does anyone think that it is impossible that George Zimmerman provoked the attack?
I think we have to go with the physical evidence.
The only so-called eyewitnesses I’ve seen are a couple of women who allegedly heard the altercation- and one of them said it had to be the kid screaming because it stopped after the shot was fired. The family’s attorney claims it’s a young voice calling for help. I’m betting the kid is a troublemaker, but the media will ignore this and interview every person in that complex who doesn’t like Zimmerman. Do I think Zimmerman killed with malice of intent? Of course not. Zimmerman probably approached the kid and asked what he was up to. The kid gave him some lip, attacked him, there was a scuffle for the gun, Zimmerman won. 10 to 1 Zimmerman gets hit with major charges, though. His life, as he once knew it, is over.
Zimmerman has not criminal record either. He was arrested, and the charges were dropped. Given the propensity of the police to prosecute charges for "resisting arrest", which is what I read the charges to be, the fact that they were dropped seems more significant than the fact that he was arrested.
Indeed, we do not know. But, there's only one person who didn't survive this altercation. So far, according to all accounts, he'd just bought candy and iced tea at a convenience store - he hadn't robbed the store - he was just walking back from the store.
Then, this guy calls 911 claiming the teen looks suspicious. He doesn't say the teen committed a crime. He says it appears the teen is looking at houses, and he pursues him, even though he's told not to.
Their histories suggest the possibility of aggression from each.
I didn't see a report about the teen having a criminal record. Did you? Maybe more information will come out later. So far, only the "watchman" has been reported as getting into an incident with the police a few years ago.
I think we have to go with the physical evidence.
If the teen did fight with this man, how do we know the teen himself wasn't acting in self-defense? A trial might sort it all out.
I just read post 51 and it has a lot of information that was left out of the media report. The media should be forced out of business if this is what actually happened. They are creating racial tension with lies and omissions. That’s criminal.
No, I did not. I only saw a report about him being suspended from school. At 17, it is very hard to have a criminal record. If he got in trouble with police, those records are not public because he would be a juvenile.
His father refuses to say why he was suspended from school. Maybe he was suspended for drawing a picture of a gun. We do not know, and we are not being told.
Just out of curiosity, can you point me to an article that isn’t a “biased attempt to influence”?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.