Posted on 07/09/2013 1:45:40 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The city of Sanford, Fla. is bracing for reaction to the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, including preparing for riots the likes of which haven’t been seen since the Rodney King verdict was announced in 1992.
The city has spent months preparing for what may develop after the jury verdict is announced, and pastors and members of the clergy are even lending a hand to keep tensions from escalating out of control.
According to a report from CNN’s David Mattingly, local pastors have been sitting in the courtroom observing the trial, and the Sanford Police Department has sent officers door to door in an attempt to stay in “front of a possible disaster.”
From Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett to the Chief of Police Cecil Smith, the city is very concerned about people coming in from out of town and “stirring up violence,” the CNN report said.
Triplett said the city was a “tinderbox” with all the demonstrations after Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin in February 2012, and his fear is that it may happen again if Zimmerman is ultimately acquitted.
A “Rodney King-type of riot” is a “scenario that’s certainly a possibility,” Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte told Mattingly.
However, neither Bonaparte nor Smith would discuss with CNN what specific security measures, like SWAT or other “personnel,” were in place.
“Months of preparation, intense community relations and a secret law enforcement plan” are in place not just for a Zimmerman acquittal, but in case celebrations over a possible guilty verdict turn violent, Mattingly reported.
No doubt, the city has been watching the escalating tension the trial has caused on social media.
There have been serious, violent and graphic calls on Twitter and Facebook for riots, looting and violence in cities across the country if Zimmerman is acquitted.
The trial is expected to last a few more weeks.
Watch the report from CNN here:
CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO
Station armed snipers and shoot any and all looters.
Too bad the “organizing” has gone national. Expect trouble across the country.
Lol, I don’t know if it will happen except in gun-free areas.
You mean there will be riots in NY, Chicago and LA because of what happens in Sanford, Florida?
The funny thing is that when they do riot, they mostly tear up their own neighborhoods.
Good spot for drone action. Problem is they won’t be engaging Trayvon’s supporters they will seek out good Americans standing our ground.
This would put a stop to the rioting as soon as it started:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBFBZb-B3Vo
Yes. More free stuff days.
I have noticed extreme shortages in ammo in the Sanford and Oviedo WalMarts too. No, folks in Central FL pack. When I first moved down here, I was the only one in my family. Now everyone packs, wives, adult siblings, in-laws...everyone. BTW,CCW Permits issued are up 65% this year alone.
And yes, dumbazz unarmed white people will drive right through the hood to provide us with video of beatings.
Says a lot about the black community that city officials are not planning to defend the city from white protestors regardless of the outcome.
The city is a bunch of racists, because they clearly do not think too highly of the rational and civil behavior their black citizens will exhibit.
Can I ask a stupid question? Isn’t it racist to assume that blacks will riot if they don’t like the verdict in this trial?
Remember the ML King riots in Chicago..there was a m 60 Tank at the corner of Western and Madison with the main gun aimed right down Madison. Daleys orders were to shoot to kill rioters.
Going to be the first Twitter Riot in the US...
Even Democrats back then were saner than Republicans are today.
Strange days.
There. Fixed it for ya.
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