Posted on 03/20/2012 9:36:58 PM PDT by marktwain
A Sanford neighbor of George Zimmerman and fellow neighborhood watch captain in their gated community came to his defense Tuesday, saying that he shot Miami teenager Trayvon Martin after numerous burglaries at The Retreat at Twin Lakes.
Frank Taaffe pointed out the circumstances that he believes led his 28-year-old neighbor to react the way he did on the night of Feb. 26: eight burglaries within 15 months, most done by young black males, he said.
"The stage was already set. It was a perfect storm,” Taaffe said. “I think any time you use a weapon, there are certain anger issues working.”
NBC 6 could not immediately confirm the burglary statistic Taaffe cited in a phone call to Sanford Police Tuesday night.
Martin, 17, picked up Skittles and iced tea from a 7-Eleven that Sunday, then headed back towards his father’s girlfriend's home on a rainy, drizzly night. Martin put on his hoodie and ran to take cover. Zimmerman spotted him, got out of his car and followed him.
In Trayvon Martin's final phone call with his own girlfriend, according to Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump, he could be heard saying “Why are you following me?” and Zimmerman replying “What are you doing around here?”
Their confrontation ended with Martin getting shot in the chest.
“This guy looks like he’s up to no good … he looks black,” Zimmerman told a police dispatcher from his car. His father has said that Zimmerman is Hispanic, grew up in a multiracial family, and is not racist.
Twin Lakes’ population is ethnically mixed. A few residents said there is tension within the gated community.
“I think he had fed-up issues. He was mad as hell and wasn't going to take it anymore,” Taaffe said of Zimmerman.
He insisted, however, that Zimmerman cared about all his neighbors.
"George is a congenial, amiable, admirable person,” he said. "He had a passion and a care for this neighborhood to ensure the safety of everybody here. And, furthermore, George is no Rambo."
Taaffe said that Zimmerman actually was appointed as a watch captain, despite reports that he appointed himself to the post.
He said he believes his neighbor acted in self-defense. That is what Zimmerman told police.
Zimmerman has not been charged, despite growing calls for his arrest.
"It’s really sad that he's already been convicted in the public media and has already been sentenced to the gas chamber,” Taaffe said. “Let's let justice do its job."
At the same time, Martin’s death is “devastating,” he said.
”It's a tragic event – we can’t bring that boy back,” he said. “I wish we could.”
My son is a clean cut white kid who wouldn’t hurt a flea, and he wears hoodies almost all the time between October and March here in Florida.
He wasn't CUTTING THROUGH. He was where he was supposed to be.
When you are INVITED IN they can't just shoot you! There's no "stand your ground" situation here except as it applies to Mr. Martin's right of self-defense.
NOTE: There are several stories from local Sanford sources that say the kid was staying in that gated community.
Zimmerman was told by the 911 dispatcher TO NOT FOLLOW THE KID ~ he did anyway. And he got out of his car and approached him ~ TO WIT ~ he accosted him.
We have Martin's girlfriend on the other end of a cellphone call telling us what was happening and that's consistent with what the police tapes are telling us.
Doesn't matter if Martin knew Zimmerman was armed ~ just that he had a fear for his life. Read the statute on "stand your ground". Martin had every right to beat the cr*p out of Zimmerman if need be.
Remember, "stand your ground" applies to both these people, not just the guy with the gun!
Muawiyah, there’s no sense arguing with some of these idiots. They heard a kid wearing a hoodie cut through a neighborhood carrying some Skittles, so dammit - he deserved it! Facts and logic don’t seem to be entering into their conclusions about this case.
Martin was LAWFULLY walking to a house where he had a LAWFUL right to be, while LAWFULLY wearing a hoodie and LAWFULLY carrying some Skittles and tea that he had LAWFULLY purchased. when it started raining, he LAWFULLY put his hood up and started LAWFULLY running to get home faster. At some point, he became aware that Zimmerman was following him, and at some point a confrontation ensued, and Martin ends up dead. The information that has been made public so far indicates that Zimmerman was paranoid about black males in his neighborhood, rightly or wrongly, and that he was so determined to see “these guys” pay for their crimes that he was willing to ignore a police dispatcher’s urging not to follow Martin, who had done nothing wrong other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If he left his vehicle to chase Martin, as the 911 tapes indicate he did, then he placed Martin in a situation where Martin had a LAWFUL right to defend himself from Zimmerman, even up to the point of using deadly force to do so. If Zimmerman suffered injuries in an ensuing melee, then he deserved it, and it’s a pity for Martin’s sake that he wasn’t the one with the gun.
Phone logs will tell us that a call was made. Only the testimony of the parties to the call will tell us what they said, and testimony is sometimes lies or misrememberances.
Now THAT is really, really interesting. Who was wearing a “red sweater”, Trayvon or Zimmerman?
Approaching someone is accosting them, wow I did not know that. I guess the next time someone gets close to me on the sidewalk I can beat the snot out of them. Thanks for the legal advice.
All Martin, an invited guest of someone living at that townhouse development, needed was a belief that his life was in danger ........ Zimmerman needed a lot more than that. He's gonna' go down hard over this one.
Somebody was the first person to break the law. You have no way of knowing that it was Zimmerman.
Pretty doggone simple.
Pretty doggone simple.
Aren't both people involved Hispanic? Does anyone have statistics on how much Hispanic on Hispanic murder there is in the country? Any change the press mistakenly thought that 'Zimmerman' was a Jewish name?
He may have been 6’3, but he was built like spaghetti.
He was 140 lbs.
Must be very difficult being them in this case!
Some of them are probably wondering if Zimmerman had run out of dogs to shoot or something.
Must be very difficult being them in this case!
Some of them are probably wondering if Zimmerman had run out of dogs to shoot or something.
Aren't both people involved Hispanic? Does anyone have statistics on how much Hispanic on Hispanic murder there is in the country?
Any chance the press mistakenly thought that 'Zimmerman' was a Jewish name?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBFOmUXR080
Whereas from his own statements to the police hotline, it can be seen that he has already left reasonable far behind.
1. Martin wasn't cutting through the community, he had a right to be there, despite The Z-Man's feelings.
Not buying the 140@6’3”. One of these things is not like the other.
Juan Williams was born in Panama, so he should be counted as “Hispanic.” He may not have a Spanish surname but he does have a Spanish first name.
Link? The ones I've seen all say that the Girlfriend lived "near" the Retreat.
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