Posted on 03/22/2012 9:03:25 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Ever since his CPAC Keynote Address in 2010, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) has been one of the gold standards of modern American political conservatism. He has also been widely hailed as a political model for conservative African American politicians. And now, following recent revelations surrounding the highly suspicious shooting of Trayvon Martin, Rep. West has joined a growing bipartisan consensus calling for the case to be reopened, possibly even with Federal assistance. West’s statement, put out today by Talking Points Memo, resonates with controlled fury (emphasis added):
itself in Sanford, Florida involving the shooting of 17-year-old Treyvon Martin. First of all, if all that has been reported is accurate, the Sanford Police Chief should be relieved of his duties due to what appears to be a mishandling of this shooting in its early stages. The US Navy SEALS identified Osama Bin Laden within hours, while this young man laid on a morgue slab for three days. The shooter, Mr Zimmerman, should have been held in custody and certainly should not be walking free, still having a concealed weapons carry permit. From my reading, it seems this young man was pursued and there was no probable cause to engage him, certainly not pursue and shoot him….against the direction of the 911 responder. Let’s all be appalled at this instance not because of race, but because a young American man has lost his life, seemingly, for no reason. I have signed a letter supporting a DOJ investigation. I am not heading to Sanford to shout and scream, because we need the responsible entities and agencies to handle this situation from this point without media bias or undue political influences. This is an outrage.
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
Nothing is missing. I question the investigation’s thoroughness because there is no evidence that has come to light which supports Zimmerman’s claim he was attacked by the 17 year old unprovoked. A bloody nose and a kid lying dead are hardly evidence the kid started the incident. Unless people believe that someone who possibly initiates a confrontation, and then is on the losing end of the proposition, may then use a firearm to kill the person they are losing to and justify it by claiming self-defense? I want to know the facts of what actually happened before the fight and before the shooting. I don’t understand why that is seen as inappropriate to know.
He’s a juvenile. Not having a record as a juvenile is NOT the same as not having a record. His criminal record is unknowable.
SoldierDad,
What do you think was NOT done in this investigation that you believe SHOULD HAVE been done?
You’re completely transparent. Not only to me, but anyone who reads your inane comments.
Happily, so are you! ;-)
You are incorrect. Zimmerman started to chase Martin after Martin started to run. The dispatcher at the SFD asked if he was pursuing, he said yes, dispatcher said you don't need to do that, Zimmerman said okay. Stopped and stated to dispatcher that he didn't know where Martin was. Listen to entire Zimmerman call to SFD. You can find a link in post #33 on this thread.
In this entire mess, that's the rub. THAT is what needs to be understood.
The neighborhood is reported to be LESS than 50% white, so it would seem unlikely that Zimmerman focused on Martin purely out of some racist animosity. That is, it couldn't have been unusual to see a black man walking down the street in that neighborhood, so that alone shouldn't have been a red flag for Zimmerman.
What did Zimmerman see that made him nervous, that made him track the movements of this (6'2") teen? Was Martin strolling along toward home with purpose and a destination, or was he moving slowly and aimlessly? Was he stopping to peek into parked cars? Did Martin take a "shortcut" across private lawns? Did he look like he was "casing" a house?
WHAT made Zimmerman nervous enough to call the police even before the confrontation ever took place?
One very important thing is missing here: Zimmerman's FULL side of the story.
The information that has been reported strongly indicates that the only “investigation” that took place was taking Zimmerman’s statement, taking statements from neighbors who only heard noises, and one who saw the very last thing that happened. Perhaps the gun was dusted for prints and a ballistic sample taken. I’ve not seen anything which indicates that a full crime scene investigation, including splatter evidence, gunshot residue, ballistic trajectory, for examples, was conducted. If such investigation took place, why has no one mentioned this? There does not seem to be any background investigation into either the 17 year old or Zimmerman. These are investigative techniques which are typical in a case like this, no?
The officer states they are dispatching to the location and asks if Zimmerman wants to meet the police there. The officer asks where he wants to meet them and there's discussion about where to meet. The officer asks Zimmerman for his address and after starting to give the address, Zimmerman hesitates because he doesn't know where the suspect is so he asks to have the police call him when they get there.
So first of all, unless you think he was lying to the police when he said he didn't know where Martin was, how is it possible that he was pursuing him? He was waiting for the police to come and planned on meeting them, and had already agreed not to pursue Martin (again unless you think he was lying to the police).
I don't think George was 'lying' to the police. But I do think after he got off the phone he decided to find out exactly where the kid went and began to follow him on foot. The incident happened in a back yard, not on the street or near the mailboxes where George was supposed to wait for the police.
There is one other important thing missing. The 17 year old's side of what happened. Since he's dead, his story will never be heard.
No it is not. I was 4' 9" at age 11 when my grandparents came to visit. It was marked and dated on the wall. I had a size 6C shoe. The following year, I was 6' 3/8" with a size 10EE shoe and weighed 112 lbs.
The driver's license on Martin said 6' 0"/160#. If that was on his 16th birthday and he is 17 now (potentially almost 18), that would be 2 years for 3" of growth vertically and 40 lbs. The summer after my 112 lb measurement, I entered 7th grade at age 13 and 135 lb. Another 20 lbs of muscle added in that year.
>> One very important thing is missing here: Zimmerman’s FULL side of the story.
Exactly. And we’re allowed to insist on that disclosure without the gratuitous accusations of bigotry.
We’re in the days of the internet. There is little that cannot be found, if people are looking.
If the kid had a serious criminal record, somebody would have found it. If no allegations of a criminal life pops up, odds ate it doesn’t exist, not because people aren’t looking for it.
Again you conveniently leave out an important piece of the puzzle. How about the fact that Mr. Zimmerman was on the phone with the SPD dispatcher describing the situation and asking for police intervention minutes before the altercation occurred?
Something else to consider here. If this is simply a cut and dried case of self-defense (and perhaps it is), then why would the local law enforcement, knowing the firestorm this incident would create, not be bending over backwards to release every possible piece of information which validates self-defense? I would think they would be doing everything possible to calm things down. But, instead, the Chief is taking a self-imposed resignation? That does not inspire confidence that the police have done their job.
And? Does that provide proof that the 17 year old initiated the confrontation? If it does, then give details.
“Don’t know, as nobody has stated how long the fight lasted.”
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The whole thing seems to have happened really fast. Zimmerman 1st call to the police at 7:11pm
Girlfriend calls Trayvon at 7:12 pm —that call lasted 4 minutes before Trayvon confronts Zimmerman about following him and Zimmerman responds what are you doing here—fight starts and phone goes dead.
And I believe the police report says they arrived at 7:17pm.
>> The 17 year old’s side of what happened. Since he’s dead, his story will never be heard.
I’m more than happy to defend Black folk, especially when it involves the little ones. But this case should be approached with some reservation given the knee-jerk public reaction to the widely published superficial information. Not taking sides, just “keeping it real”.
The reason he is at the gated community is because he was suspended from school for 5 days. That's indicative of serious misbehavior. Minor misbehavior is "rewarded" with detention.
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