So, Zimmerman apparently has a history of being a prick to people he encounters while on “duty”:
Additionally, “In this case Mr. Zimmerman has made the statement of self defense,” Lee said. “Until we can establish probable cause to dispute that, we don’t have the grounds to arrest him.”
[quote]anonym wrote:
So, Zimmerman apparently has a history of being a prick to people he encounters while on “duty”:
Additionally, “In this case Mr. Zimmerman has made the statement of self defense,” Lee said. “Until we can establish probable cause to dispute that, we don’t have the grounds to arrest him.”[/quote]
Well, well, well. Self defense with a deadly weapon is a legitimate, legal action after all, even vs. unarmed assailants.
That kid was 140lbs and tall. If he was seen as a threat, there is a problem. I am surprised the law is protecting this man after this. I also don’t see how his claim of self defense is justified when he approached the victim.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
That kid was 140lbs and tall. If he was seen as a threat, there is a problem. I am surprised the law is protecting this man after this. I also don’t see how his claim of self defense is justified when he approached the victim.[/quote]
Seriously? Height and weight have absolutely nothing to do with it. That’s the kind of shit roguevampire would say.
[quote]overstand wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
That kid was 140lbs and tall. If he was seen as a threat, there is a problem. I am surprised the law is protecting this man after this. I also don’t see how his claim of self defense is justified when he approached the victim.[/quote]
Seriously? Height and weight have absolutely nothing to do with it. That’s the kind of shit roguevampire would say.
[/quote]
?
Dude, if I was in court claiming a 5’2 85lbs woman was a threat, I do believe that would hold some sway.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
That kid was 140lbs and tall. If he was seen as a threat, there is a problem. I am surprised the law is protecting this man after this. I also don’t see how his claim of self defense is justified when he approached the victim.[/quote]
I’m not a lawyer but I know you have the right to check out suspicious activity (we still don’t know what he saw) in order to report it.
If that’s what he was doing and got attacked in the process it was self defense.
Because of innocence until proven guilt, he is entitled to his freedom per constitutionally granted rights until he is proven a murderer, in which case he deserves the death penalty.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
I also don’t see how his claim of self defense is justified when he approached the victim[/quote]
Sifu already addressed this.
[quote]Sifu wrote:
I can see how following the kid would be a provocative, assholish thing to do, but that does not make it an assault. Without an assault by the watchman you can’t say the kid was acting in self defense. If he responded to being followed by getting physical he becomes the assailant even though it is perfectly understandable why he is responding like that. So the watchman claiming self defense may technically be accurate. Even though it was his actions that caused the chain of events.
The DA probably is going to have to go through a lot of research studying prior case law in order to figure out exactly what criminal charges he can press. Another reason for the delay in charges being filed. It won’t surprise me if this results in no criminal charges but the watchman loses a civil suit.[/quote]
It’s already been stated NUMEROUS times here… Zimmerman was told by 911 dispatchers to wait until police arrived, and not get involved.
But NO, the dumb fuck proceeded anyway. Who is the aggressor here?
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
It’s already been stated NUMEROUS times here… Zimmerman was told by 911 dispatchers to wait until police arrived, and not get involved.
But NO, the dumb fuck proceeded anyway. Who is the aggressor here?[/quote]
911 operators are not the police and do not give legal counsel.
Many stories of self defense start the same way, ending with no charges.
Depending on the scenario, either could be the aggressor, hence the investigation.
Whoever attacked first, or made the threat of attack, was the aggressor.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
It’s already been stated NUMEROUS times here… Zimmerman was told by 911 dispatchers to wait until police arrived, and not get involved.
But NO, the dumb fuck proceeded anyway. Who is the aggressor here?[/quote]
And, again, you’d be missing the point Sifu wrote. It’s a provocative, asshole move, but it does not necessarily make you an assailant such that a physical attack would be justifiable.
And he was under no legal obligation to listen to the 911 dispatcher, as has been stated before.
What we CAN say with a degree of certainty at this point is that he isn’t some moonshine swillin’, straw-chewin’, cross-burnin’, hood-wearin’, sister-fuckin’ redneck who uses his neighborhood watch “authority” as an excuse vent his inner racist without suffering any consequences.
He’s been arrested for assaulting a cop before. Others have complained about his aggressive tactics while on “duty”. He was already overly suspicious because the neighborhood had experienced a couple robbers weeks before. He expressed his refusal to wait for the cops because “they always get away”.
He sounds like a psychologically imbalanced asshole who gets off on bullying people. Not necessarily a high-octane racist who would kick sand in an elderly black guy’s face while tipping his hat to a white teenager.
Again, I’m not saying race is definitely NOT the case, and I’m certainly not suggesting I hope he doesn’t do time for this… just that a lot of people seemed to jump to conclusions and swallow the whole “Skittles vs gun” sound bite hook, line and sinker.
No, but it shows a certain aggression and over-reaction on his part.
Like I said previously, the guy obviously had an itchy trigger finger, as they say, and that alongside his prior violent history will not work on his behalf… especially when you consider a skinny, Skittles and iced tea-toting teen with no motives but to head HOME was his target.
EDIT: Looks like we posted exactly at the same time, Anom.
We ALSO know that there’s no case of “whitey protecting whitey” now that the police have gone on record stating that they cannot arrest Zimmerman until they have sufficient evidence to call bullshit on his self defense claim.
The forensic evidence and, apparently, some witness testimonials both corroborate the claim that some sort of physical altercation took place. So, unless any eyewitnesses step forward, or some CSI-esque forensics shed light on who was truly the aggressor, it’s going to be Zimmerman’s word against Martin’s.
[quote]anonym wrote:
He sounds like a psychologically imbalanced asshole who gets off on bullying people.
[/quote]
Sounds like he should’ve been a cop.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
[quote]anonym wrote:
He sounds like a psychologically imbalanced asshole who gets off on bullying people.
[/quote]
Sounds like he should’ve been a cop.[/quote]
LOL
I was gonna post that sentiment earlier!
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
No, but it shows a certain aggression and over-reaction on his part.
Like I said previously, the guy obviously had an itchy trigger finger, as they say, and that alongside his prior violent history will not work on his behalf… especially when you consider a skinny, Skittles and iced tea-toting teen with no motives but to head HOME was his target.[/quote]
It can show a history of over-reaction and aggression, but unless you can definitively prove that history repeated itself that night I’m not sure how you are gonna make the case that he is full of shit beyond all reasonable doubt.
And the Skittles/ice tea thing has no bearing on the issue other than to give it a more resounding emotional effect. “Unarmed” is a more appropriate term to use here. Just because he was heading home, or wasn’t looking for trouble when he stepped foot out the door, doesn’t mean that he didn’t respond aggressively when Zimmerman approached him.
That being said, I hope he DOES do time. I’m just responding because I thought it was silly how quickly everyone pulled the race card here – not just against Zimmerman but the PD, as well.
It takes 2 to tango, I’m sure both parties were at least partly at fault here. I’ll bet they exchanged fuck you’s, got in each others’ faces, somebody shoved somebody and it went downhill from there. I have a hard time believing a guy just walked up and shot a kid because he was black.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
[quote]anonym wrote:
He sounds like a psychologically imbalanced asshole who gets off on bullying people.
[/quote]
Sounds like he should’ve been a cop.[/quote]
LOL
I was gonna post that sentiment earlier! [/quote]
Don’t forget, he WAS a CJ major. And, what normal 26yo really thinks patrolling his gated neighborhood for crime is a fun way to spend his evenings?
He was probably a cop in his head… just couldn’t pass the tests to become the real thing.
[quote]overstand wrote:
I have a hard time believing a guy just walked up and shot a kid because he was black. [/quote]
Really?
History shows time and again that prejudice often drums up false infractions so that “justice” can be carried out via vigilantism.
The lynchings in America are proof of this.
[quote]anonym wrote:
That being said, I hope he DOES do time. I’m just responding because I thought it was silly how quickly everyone pulled the race card here – not just against Zimmerman but the PD, as well.[/quote]
From your link:
Benjamin Crump, the Martin familyâ??s attorney, filed a public records lawsuit last week seeking the 911 recordings for the night of the shooting. Crump said people with access to the tapes told him Zimmerman made a comment about Martinâ??s race during the call and said he had no intention of letting the youth get away because, â??they always get away.â??
I will maintain that this was a racially charged attack and believe that the 911 recordings will prove that. Hopefully those recordings are released shortly.