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Senselessly
Gundowned Trayvon Martin Aspired To Be An Aviation Mechanic By Mike Mitchell |
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March 20,
2012 - It was a rainy night at about 7 PM on February 26, a
crime watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, 28, was patrolling his
neighborhood in his sport utility vehicle when he spotted a
young Black male, Trayvon Martin, 17 walking the street wearing
a sweatshirt, with the hood draped over his head.
Zimmerman
contacted Sanford Police?s (Sanford, Florida) 911. He stated to
the 911 dispatcher, ?Hey, we?ve had some break-ins in my
neighborhood and there?s a real suspicious? This guy looks like
he?s up to no good or he?s on drugs or something.
It?s raining and he?s just walking around looking about?
He looks Black." Zimmerman said the guy was wearing a dark hoody like a
grey hoody and either jeans or sweatpants and white tennis
shoes. ?He?s here now he was just staring? looking at all the houses? Now he?s just staring at me? Yeah, now he?s coming towards me? He?s got his hand in his waistband. And he?s a Black male? he?s got a button on his shirt? Late teens?. Um hum, something?s wrong with him. Yeap, he?s coming to check me out. He?s got something in his hands. I don?t know what his deal is?. Can you get an officer over here?... Ok. Fucken coon! These assholes they always get away. He?s running down towards the ah other entrance of the neighborhood. 911 police dispatch: Are you following him? Zimmerman: Yeah. 911 police dispatch: Ok, we don?t need you to do that." |
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There have been no
arrests in the case. Sanford Police have stated that they believed the
voice crying for help was Zimmerman?s and they do not have enough
evidence to dispute Mr. Zimmerman?s claim that he acted in self-defense.
However, Trayvon?s parents believe the voice calling for help was the
voice of their son. Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon?s mother said, ?There is no question in my mind that is his voice.? ?I listened to the tapes and it just broke my heart again to hear him screaming out for help and pleading for his life, and he was still murdered.? Sgt. Dave Morgenstern, a spokesman with the Sanford Police Department, said, ?That is the circumstance we are dealing with. If we arrest, we open ourselves to a lawsuit. I would have to say I don?t think we have conducted a racially biased investigation at all.? |
ABC News
reported a source inside the police department informed them
that a narcotics detective, not a homicide detective, first
approached Zimmerman and peppered him with questions, possibly
leading his story. And that another officer reportedly corrected
a witness after she told him that she heard the teen cry for
help.
When Zimmerman completed the program his arrest record was expunged which allowed him to legally have a gun license and carry a 45. Zimmerman is currently studying criminal justice. Zimmerman has called the police 46 times in total since January 2011, regarding open windows, break-ins, disturbances and other such incidences in the area. The Justice Department on March 19, has opened an investigation into the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. In a statement released Monday night the Justice Department said its Civil Rights Division, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, would investigate the death of this young man. ?The department will conduct a thorough and independent review of all of the evidence and take appropriate action at the conclusion of the investigation,? Xochitl Hinojosa, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said in a statement. ?The department also is providing assistance to and cooperating with the state officials in their investigation into the incident.? According to a local newspaper, Zimmerman would often go door to door in the neighborhood warning residents to be careful of young Black males. Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the family, told reporters that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's parents both broke down and cried as they listened to the 911 tapes, "They are completely devastated, they are in unbelievable grief." On March 19, Seminole County Sheriff's Office released more 911 calls made by George Zimmerman. In four of the recordings Zimmerman called police to report "suspicious" persons all of whom were black in or near the Retreat at Twin Lakes neighborhood.
Turner Clayton, president of the local NAACP, stated, ?There has been tension between the Black community and the police for a long time. When Chief Lee first started, it seemed that things would get better, but with this Martin case, it seems we're dealing with the same old Sanford regime.?
"Trayvon said, 'What, are you following me for,' and the man said, 'What are you doing here.' Next thing I hear is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the head set just fell. I called him again and he didn't answer the phone." The line went dead.
A civil
rights group has called on the state to suspend the concealed
carry permit of George Zimmerman. However, Agriculture
Commissioner Adam Putnam, whose agency oversees concealed
weapons permits, stated he can't do anything unless criminal
charges have been filed or a felony conviction.
Because
State law prevents Putnam's agency from identifying individuals
who have applied for or received a gun permit, he unable to
discuss this matter as it relates to George Zimmerman. "My
office is legally bound to fiercely protect the privacy of
concealed weapon permit holders. There are specific legal
triggers that result in suspension or revocation." The Florida
Civil Rights Association has planned a Wednesday protest at the
department's regional licensing office in Orlando.
Florida
state law states the state can suspend or revoke a gun permit
holder's license under the following conditions.
The
department shall revoke a license if the licensee has been found
guilty of, had adjudication of guilt withheld for, or had
imposition of sentence suspended for one or more crimes of
violence within the preceding three years.
The
department shall suspend a license if the licensee is arrested
or formally charged with a felony. The suspension will last
until the case is over.
Other grounds for suspension/revocation include sustaining a physical disability that makes handling a weapon safely impossible and being committed to a mental institution.
Florida
Senator Oscar Braynon has called for hearings into the "Stand
Your Ground" law, also known as the Castle Doctrine. Gun-rights
groups reject the need for hearings and the need to repeal this
law. A Castle Doctrine is an legal doctrine that designates a person's abode (or, in some states, any place legally occupied, such as a car or place of work) as a place in which the person has certain protections and immunities and may in certain circumstances attack an intruder without becoming liable to prosecution. Typically deadly force is considered justified, and a defense of justifiable homicide applicable, in cases "when the actor reasonably fears imminent peril of death or serious bodily harm to himself or another". |
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