Trayvon Martin death: parents call on FBI to take over case as anger grows ~LoisLane~: Neighbourhood volunteer George Zimmerman has admitted the killing, claiming self-defence – but police have made no arrests The parents of an unarmed African American teenager who was shot dead in Sanford, Florida, last month are formally calling on the FBI to take over the investigation as they have lost confidence in the local police and prosecutors. Trayvon Martin, 17, was fatally shot by a Hispanic neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who has admitted the killing, claiming self-defence. But three weeks later, Zimmerman, 28, has not been charged, sparking accusations of racial stereotyping and poor investigation. Martin, from Miami, was visiting his father in Sanford. On February 26, he was watching the NBA all-star game at a house in a gated community called the Retreat at Twin Lakes. At half time, he left the house to the convenience store to get some candy and a drink. On his way back, he was spotted by Zimmerman, who was patrolling the area in his car and who called 911 to report what he described as a "real suspicious guy." The release of the 911 tapes over the weekend, which the family say proves Zimmerman was not acting in self-defence, provoked a further storm of outrage, with rallies and petitions demanding Zimmerman's arrest. Students rallied on Monday in front of the Seminole County criminal courts building in Sanford, where prosecutors will review the case and decide whether to file charges against Zimmerman, and on the campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Martin's family, told reporters that 17-year-old Martin's parents both broke down and cried as they listened to the 911 recordings................ ~LoisLane~: They are completely devastated. They are in unbelievable grief," Crump told the Huffington Post. The 911 tapes, eight recording of the events of February 26 were made public on Friday after the family sued to have them released. They reveal how Zimmerman pursued Martin, against warnings from the operator. Later, 911 calls from neighbours reveal how there were calls for help before a single shot rang out. "Hey, we've had some break-ins in my neighbourhood and there's a real suspicious guy," Zimmerman tells police before giving the address. "This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something." Zimmerman then tries to explain where he is. "Now he's coming towards me. He's got his hand in his waistband. And he's a black male … Something's wrong with him. Yup, he's coming to check me out. He's got something in his hands. I don't know what his deal is … These assholes, they always get away." Zimmerman then said: "Shit, he's running." "Are you following him?" the operator asked. Zimmerman replied: "Yep." "OK, we don't need you to do that," the operator warned. But by the time police arrived, Martin lay dead with a gunshot wound in the chest. "Hurry, please … there's someone screaming outside," a neighbour whispers on another 911 recording. "There's a gunshot. Hurry up." In another call, a woman begs the dispatchers to send help, saying someone is "screaming and hollering" for help. ~LoisLane~: Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, accused Sanford police of not investigating their son's killing properly, and criticised them for not arresting Zimmerman, according to CBS News. They say the police department hasn't arrested Zimmerman because he is white and their son was black. Police initially told Martin's father that they didn't charge him because Zimmerman was a criminal justice student with a " squeaky clean" record, according to the Huffington Post. But Crump said public records show that Zimmerman was arrested in July 2005 in Orange County on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. The charges appear to have been dropped. "They just lied to the family," Crump said. "They just couldn't see why [Zimmerman] would do anything wrong or be violent. But not only do you know the guy killed this kid, because he admitted to it, you knew that he has a propensity for violence because of his past record." Reports of the case suggest that Zimmerman was a vigilante with a false sense of authority. Police records show Zimmerman had called 911 a total of 46 times between 1 January this year and the day he killed Martin, according to Mother Jones. Zimmerman told police he fired his 9mm pistol in self-defence, and he has a lawful concealed weapons permit. Martin was carrying was his cell phone, a can of iced tea and a bag of Skittles. ~LoisLane~: This is such a sad story, I just dont understand why the guy wasnt arrested and his gun taken away....regardless if he has a permit for it....It has been used in a shooting.  StuckInTheSixties: An update on this story Trayvon Martin Case: Lead Investigator Asked to Step Down By MATT GUTMAN (@mattgutmanABC) and SENI TIENABESO (@senijr_abc) and CANDACE SMITH SANFORD, Fla., March 21, 2012 As tensions between community leaders and residents in Sanford, Fla., reach a boiling point, the man leading the investigation into the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is being asked to step down. During a heated special meeting regarding the death of the unarmed teen, who was allegedly shot and killed by self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, Sanford city commissioners conducted a vote of "no confidence" against embattled Police Chief Billy Lee. Three of five commissioners voted against the chief. One commissioner demanded that Lee resign. It is now up to the city manager to decide whether or not to let Lee go. "The unknown in a tragedy will make the heart do crazy things, and we haven't done a good job of getting out in front of that," said Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett after the vote. "I have confidence in him in a lot of ways, and don't have confidence in him in some ways." The vote of "no confidence" came after Triplett was forced to answer some tough questions from neighborhood residents and the media, during an NAACP meeting aimed at addressing allegations of police misconduct in the community. "If there were mistakes made we are going to act accordingly," Triplett said in response to a question from ABC News about the investigation into Martin's death. PHOTO: Trayvon Martin, 17, was fatally shot by neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman. ABC News Trayvon Martin, 17, was fatally shot by... View Full Size Trayvon Martin Case: Grand Jury to Hear Evidence Watch Video Neighborhood-Watch Shooting: Girlfriend Speaks Watch Video Trayvon Martin: Investigating the Investigation Watch Video Some believe local authorities botched the investigation from the start. Martin, who was black, was carrying only a bag of skittles, ice tea and his cell phone, when Zimmerman allegedly killed him on Feb. 26. While Martin's family has repeatedly called for his arrest, Sanford Police accepted and stand by Zimmerman's claim of self-defense. But it's not just the mayor, or the conduct of the police officers, that is being questioned. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read this part of this story closely ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law gives enormous leeway to people like Zimmerman to use deadly force if they feel threatened. Since the law was enacted seven years ago, justified homicides in Florida have jumped threefold, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Twenty states have similar laws, but Florida's is widely viewed as having the broadest application. Courts across the state have been trying to figure out how to grapple with the legislation and the Martin incident is one of several examples that have stirred controversy. In another ongoing trial, lawyers for Trevor Dooley are using the law to defend him in the death of his neighbor David James. In 2010, Dooley shot James in front of his 8-year-old daughter after witnesses say the two men got into an altercation on a basketball court in Valrico, Fla., when James tried to prevent Dooley from shooing away a teenage skateboarder using the court to practice tricks. Dooley's attorneys argue that he is protected by Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law and that he shot James in self defense. They argue that mundane neighbor disputes can turn violent. Cases like this and Martin's have led Florida State Representative Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, one of the original sponsors of the law, to say that it has been misused. "There was nothing in this statute ever intended to protect somebody who was pursuing or confronting other people," said Baxley. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The U.S. Attorney in Central Florida and officials from the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division will be meeting Thursday with Martin family as they investigate the case. Attorneys in the justice department are likely looking into whether or not Martin's rights were deprived by Zimmerman during the altercation that led to the teen's death. They are also looking into whether he was the victim of a hate crime. Their inquiry continues as the Martin case continues to transfix the nation. Social media exploded this week with over the case, catapulting the incident into the national spot light. A single petition calling for his killer's arrest had around 800,000 signatures and was the fastest growing petition in Internet history, according to Change.org. For nearly three weeks, the story had languished, as did the Change.org petition set up for Martin's parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. It sat with just a few thousand signatures, but towards the end of last week, as ABC News and other media began intensifying their coverage, and celebrities tweeted about the story, interest soared. A host of celebrities from hip hop icon and entrepreneur Russell Simmons to new age leader Deepak Chopra to director Spike Lee have written and tweeted, calling for justice for Martin. Black radio and television hosts have also buoyed the story, calling on authorities to act. The Martin family took their fight to the streets of New York City Wednesday night as they linked with around 2,000 protestors who marched through Manhattan, demanding justice for the slain 17-year-old. "We will not go politely in the night," said the teen's father Tracy Martin. "We will tell people in Florida that we are not alone." http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-case-lead-investigator-asked-step/story?id=15974720#.T2q7Q9miaaS (Edited by StuckInTheSixties) StuckInTheSixties: Those laws are being used, with quite a bit of success, in the states where they exist. Trigger-happy gun owners are shooting innocent people, and saying, "He appeared to be doing something criminal, and I feared for my life, so I shot him" and getting charges dismissed because with those laws on the books, it's difficult, sometimes impossible, to prove that the shooter wasn't acting within the law. To do so, you'd have to prove what the shooter was thinking. Was he thinking his life was in danger, or was he thinking, "I'm gonna teach this guy a lesson"? It's causing quite a stink, but don't expect to see those laws taken off the books. The NRA is awfully powerful. harlett: this tragedy is worse than disturbing...... the teen was simply walking to his corner store for some candy when some stranger began following him....The teen was on the phone complaining to his girl friend about how creepy it was.. the teen buys his candy is starting to walking home ....he turns around and faces his stalker with what gives... is when that STALKER supposedly on his (neighborhood watch) duty just up shot him in the head.... that is cold blooded murder.....not self defense...the teen had a bag of skittles in his hands... whats truly disturbing too me....is every year..around graduation from high school time... young black men who have something to bring into this world are shot down and taken out of life before they get that chance....too share their gifts/talents with us..... I was here: At a brief press conference Thursday afternoon, the police chief of Sanford, Fla., said he was temporarily stepping aside as a result of criticism of his investigation of the killing of Trayvon Martin. Martin, 17, was shot once in the chest Feb. 26 by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch activist in the gated community where Martin was returning home from a 7-11 store. Zimmerman, 28, scuffled with Martin and claimed he shot Martin in self-defense. Martin was unarmed. Lee said Florida law prevented him from charging Zimmerman, which has sparked outrage nationwide. Last week, as criticism grew, Sanford police turned the investigation over to the State Attorney's Office. A Seminole County grand jury is to review evidence April 10. This week, as the story exploded nationwide through social media, the U.S. Justice Department and FBI announced that they had begun a civil right investigation. Martin's family planned a news conference to discuss the meeting. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/03/fla-city-manager-to-discuss-trayvon-martin-case/1#.T2uhqsUgff0 ~LoisLane~: I just think this whole story is disgusting...Wtf is wrong with the police there? Im not sure why the victims friends and family have to constantly keep explaining why the victim was there. How about the asshole with the gun and why was he there??? I think if this was a white kid (in this situation) things would have been handled way differently. It still boggles my mind why Zimmerman was allowed to return home with his gun....   (Post deleted by staff ) Jetters: Bill Maher No probable cause in Trayvon Martin murder? If a dead unarmed teen and an angry racist with a smoking gun is too subtle a clue, what isn't? Taken from Bill Mahers status on his FB page. ~LoisLane~: Do not comment in my threads............I am not interested in anything you have to say Rabbit.... ~LoisLane~: Dont even address his stupid ass Jets.... Oh dont forget the Gun Shot being heard on the 911 call.....Im sure that didnt give it away....Oh wait and the dead child lying on the lawn. ~LoisLane~: Ahhh Nice....AND right on for Bill Maher!! Pretty crazy they are bringing in the FBI to investigate the police department.... The family was on Anderson Cooper today..(talk show) and they were just all so sad.... His father told a story of when Trayvon was 8yrs old...The house caught on fire....His father passed out from the smoke and from being burned....The Child pulled his father out on the porch and then ran back in the house to get the phone to call 911......I was in tears listening to his father tell the story....Then he said how Trayvon saved his life but he was not there to protect and save his childs life....... (Edited by ~LoisLane~) StuckInTheSixties: While the Florida "Stand your ground" law is being criticized by many just in concept, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee "temporarily" stepped down amid indications that his department badly bungled the investigation from the start. The FBI, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida are investigating this case. As noted above, Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, one of the sponsoring legislators of the Florida law "Stand your ground" law that is being examined and critcized stated: "There was nothing in this statute ever intended to protect somebody who was pursuing or confronting other people." That Zimmerman was pursuing and confronting Martin is not at issue, as Zimmerman was telling a police dispatcher over his cell phone that he was doing exactly that, and the dispatcher was advising him not to do that. Laws, such as this Florida "Stand your ground" law at issue here, can be INTERPRETED at numerous steps within the workings of the justice system, and local politics can play a big part in this process. There is a long, sad history of crimes, blatant in their commission, not being prosecuted in southern states for political reasons. And, of course, when the US Justice Department stepped in, and prosecuted on the basis of federal laws, there were objections of federal interference compromising "state rights." This history is at the root of much of the public outcry in this case. Like so many before it, the case appears to be one in which the civil rights of black person (Martin) were allegedly violated by a white person (Zimmerman, who shot Martin), and local authorities ignored evidence and failed to prosecute. The following has been copied/pasted here: The Sanford Police department allegedly ignored some witnesses while failing to follow up with others. One officer "corrected" the testimony of an eye witness who said she heard "the boy," Martin, crying out; the officer allegedly told the witness that it was Zimmerman who was screaming for help. Most egregious, say experts, was the failure of the department to follow up with Martin's girlfriend, who was on the phone with him in the seconds before Zimmerman confronted Martin and shot him dead. Police had Martin's cellphone call logs but never reached out to the girl, who said that Zimmerman followed, pursued and accosted Martin. "That's a serious, serious fatal flaw," said Rod Wheeler, a homicide investigator who is not involved with the case, "and it could be a fatal flaw in this investigation. And the police department definitely needs to go back, re-interview anyone and everyone that has any information." Wheeler said that investigators from the justice department will also begin their investigation with new witness interviews. On Monday, it was announced the FBI, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida will investigate the killing. And while law enforcement analysts tell ABC News that Zimmerman sounded intoxicated in his call to police that night, police never gave him a toxicology test, which is standard in most homicide cases. Police also did not check Zimmerman's vehicle or impound it. The FBI has said it is now examining the 911 tapes, which include a possible racial slur believed to be muttered by Zimmerman, a neighborhood crime watch volunteer who pursued Martin, confronted him and after a scuffle shot him dead. The Martin family also criticized the Sanford police department for failing to identify their son more quickly. Martin's body was left in the morgue for three days, classified as a "John Doe." The family charges that officers didn't bother to ask neighbors if they recognized Martin, who had been staying with his father in the neighborhood. http://abcnews.go.com/US/police-chief-trayvon-martin-case-resigns-temporarily-amid/story?id=15977847#.T2vHVtmiaaQ ~LoisLane~: That racial slur seems to start with a C....IMO the Ahole called Trayvon a "coon"..... I have heard about three 911 tapes....One you can hear the kid yelling "Help Help" then you hear a Gun Shot and then nothing..... (Edited by ~LoisLane~) StuckInTheSixties: "Tell me what you think about it ...." I think the cops screwed up their investigation badly. I think some guy with a gun and an attitude shot and killed a teenager when there was no reason to do so. I think the Florida law is horribly flawed. And I think that the justice system will probably ... hopefully, result in justice. The long-winded post(s) above is the basis for my thoughts. ~LoisLane~: He "Zimmerman the shooter" was said to have shot Trayvon in the chest and then knelt on his back and held him there, hands and all...Said one witness.. (Edited by ~LoisLane~) ~LoisLane~: True but I would rather read it in your words.... You are sooo right and I agree with all of it... This whole thing has been handled in such an embarrassing way , what are people supposed to think about their laws... Zimmerman's whole story is a mangled joke . He should have just said.."I have been itching to shoot someone all year, and just did."... Even after the 911 guy told him not to follow Trayvon....He did anyway with a Gun in his pocket...  Wild__: 28 states have strong Castle Doctrine laws in place. 16 states have Stand your Ground laws in place. 6 states and The District of Colombia have weak or no Castle Doctrine law in effect. These laws are essentially an admission of failure on the part of law enforcement, to protect the populace from violent criminals, and so they grant us the ability to protect ourselves. In this case the state law is serving to protect a man that needs to stand trial for his actions. As the FBI is now investigating, we can only hope that they make an arrest, and IF he is found guilty, spend the rest of his life behind bars. (I emphasise the "IF," I mean lets not forget the O.J. Simpson trial) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_doctrine (Edited by Wild__) (Post deleted by staff ) ~LoisLane~: GTFO of my thread...I dont care who or what you were addressing....Your not welcome in my threads so go troll somewhere else... Kindly do not come into any of my threads again....... | Off Topic Chat Room Similar Conversations |
