Sanford Police Chief says he's sure Trayvon would do things differently if he could relive Feb. 26

[Cali_Democrat]

Police Chief Bill Lee said that although police do not encourage watch program volunteers to carry weapons, he recognizes a citizen’s constitutional right to do so. No arrest was made, Lee said, because there was no evidence to disprove Zimmerman’s account.

<...>

“We are taking a beating over this,” said Lee, who defends the investigation. “This is all very unsettling. I’m sure if George Zimmerman had the opportunity to relive Sunday, Feb. 26, he’d probably do things differently. I’m sure Trayvon would, too.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/17/2700249/shooter-of-trayvon-martin-a-habitual.html

So what exactly should Trayvon have done differently? He was walking home carrying a bag of skittles an an iced tea. He was stalked and killed by a nut because of the color of his skin. Of course we'll never know exactly what Trayvon thinks because he's dead and his killer is free to roam the streets.

I don't blame the family for having no faith in the Sanford Police Department.

[The Magistrate]

1. Jesus, Sir, Calling This Wretch Viciously Stupid Overstates His Worth By Many Orders Of Magnitude

That he has not been charred to cinders by a thunderbolt on delivering himself of this gem constitutes clear and convincing proof there is no just and righteous deity in charge of our universe....

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. What The Magistrate said

Enjoying the weather, old friend?

[The Magistrate]

7. Truly Bizarre Here, Sir

Just got back from the park with the grand-kids. Water-bottle full of ice melted in fifteen minutes....

[Joe the Revelator]

5. Very well said....

This entire thing is beyond mind boggling

[Cali_Democrat]

6. Indeed. n/t

[yardwork]

22. You've been in many of the same threads as me today and each time I cheer your posts!

Just want to say thank you for saying it so eloquently and well.

[Old and In the Way]

2. Trayvon should have been packing...at least he could have defended himself.

In fact, I'm thinking maybe everyone needs to carry to protect themselves from the racists who seem to think they get to determine justice.

[The Magistrate]

8. A Sound Point, Sir: He Was The Only Person Involved With A Legal Right To Self-Defense

Zimmerman was himself engaged in illegal action, and so even under Florida law has not the shadow of a right to defend himself, let alone use deadly force in self-defense.

[JI7]

10. but if Trayvon did have a gun and killed Zimmerman who stalked and went after him

i don't think he would be free like zimmerman is now. i think he would be locked up when the cops showed up at the scene unless they shot him to death .

[The Magistrate]

14. Also True, Sir: This Police Department Just Hates To Make Arrests For Crimes Against Black People

One suspects they have a little trouble with the whole concept of their being citizens with rights and stuff....

[XanaDUer]

27. For all this you g man knew,

Zimmerman was some type of pervert attempting to "detain" him to harm him. I guarantee there is more in Zimmerman's background than meets the eye.

[Doctor_J]

32. This is the NRA's solution to the problem

everyone armed = no one ever shot. Very bizarre, and a good reason the rest of the civilized world considers us to be nuts.

[Old and In the Way]

34. I certainly can't disagree with your point.

But if the police allow this guy to walk on what appears to be a clear case of murder, the message being sent to everyone is - arm yourself. I hate that we are devolving to this level, but if the reality is an NRA sponsered Wild West wonderworld, everyone ought to be on the same playing field.

[morningfog]

4. Racist covering for a murder-racist. Sick.

[kdmorris]

9. What a complete bullshit cover-up

This whole thing makes me sick. My 2 month old grandson could be this kid one day and no one will do anything about it if some racist bastard shoots him in cold blood.

[WillyT]

11. Well... At Least One Mystery Has Been Solved...

Judge Rules That Police Can Bar High I.Q. Scores
NYT
Published: September 09, 1999

<snip>

A Federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a man who was barred from the New London police force because he scored too high on an intelligence test.

In a ruling made public on Tuesday, Judge Peter C. Dorsey of the United States District Court in New Haven agreed that the plaintiff, Robert Jordan, was denied an opportunity to interview for a police job because of his high test scores. But he said that that did not mean Mr. Jordan was a victim of discrimination.

Judge Dorsey ruled that Mr. Jordan was not denied equal protection because the city of New London applied the same standard to everyone: anyone who scored too high was rejected.

<snip>

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/09/nyregion/metro-news-briefs-connecticut-judge-rules-that-police-can-bar-high-iq-scores.html

Teh Stupid... it kills...

[LisaL]

15. Smart people will just have to dumb themselves down when taking this test.

[rustydog]

12. Yea, Trayvon would think again about buying his brother skittles and walking home after dark

"Those people" need to know to stay indoors after sundown, right Chief?
Bigot.

[Dead_Parrot]

13. In hindsight, he should have been less black.

Clearly, he brought it on himself, and we can't really blame Zimmerman.

[warrior1]

16. this is an outrage

shame of the stanford pd

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. If Trayvon were white, he would have walked to Zimmerman's

car to ask for directions to the house. And nothing would have happened because Zimmerman would have probably presented himself in a more friendlier way.

The only thing that the chief could be suggesting, is that Trayvon should have realized he was a black man in a white gated community and understood how frightened the white folk get when something like that is allowed to come that close to home.

[slackmaster]

33. Being black did not actually prevent him from doing just that. He ran because he was afraid.

According to his own account, Zimmerman followed him because he ran.

[The Backlash Cometh]

35. But, but, slackmaster, you were the one who said Trayvon SHOULD have fled.

That was before we knew he actually did. And now you're saying that Zimmerman left his ground to chased him down because he fled.

In what scenario in your mind does Trayvon get to live?

[slackmaster]

36. Fleeing and approaching in a friendly manner are both valid strategies

In what scenario in your mind does Trayvon get to live?

Any scenario in which George Zimmerman doesn't shoot him.

[yardwork]

38. According to the 911 call by Zimmerman himself, Trayvon did both.

Zimmerman reported that Trayvon was walking slowly, looking at the buildings. (Since he was visiting, my guess is that he was lost in the neighborhood of identical buildings.) Then Zimmerman reports that "he's looking at me, he's walking toward me." (Sounds like Trayvon hoped to ask directions.) Then we hear huffing and puffing, and the emergency dispatcher asks Zimmerman if he's pursuing. Zimmerman says yes. (Trayvon became frightened of the man and ran.)

[slackmaster]

39. All signs point to Zimmerman as the problem

I'm very curious to hear his explanation of why he shot Trayvon.

[yardwork]

44. The police say that he gave an explanation. He shot him in self defense.

[The Backlash Cometh]

47. I wonder how it's possible that he caught up with Trayvon.

The only thing that makes sense is that Trayvon was hoping to escape into his father's fiancee's house, but hesitated because he wasn't sure which door to open.

[yardwork]

48. Zimmerman may have shot and wounded Trayvon.

There's a question about how many shots were fired. Witnesses reported hearing two shots. It's possible that Zimmerman shot and wounded Trayvon, causing him to fall. Then we hear Trayvon screaming for his life - in pain and terror - until Zimmerman shoots him a second time, this time killing him.

Or it could have happened as you suggest, which is that Trayvon was lost in the maze of identical-looking condo buildings and not sure where he was going.

A long time ago I got lost in an apartment complex I was visiting. I was drunk, too - which Trayvon was not. Anyway, I was lost, scared, and drunk late at night in an apartment complex and all the buildings looked alike. I knocked on somebody's door. Stupid, I know, but it seemed like my only option at the time. The people who lived in the apartment were nice to me. They were concerned about me. They were going to drive me back to my college dorm - ten miles away - and then my friends found me.

I'll never forget how frightening it was to be lost in an apartment complex where all the buildings looked alike and I didn't know the number of my friends' building. That could easily have happened to a 17 year old boy on a rainy winter evening. But instead of finding somebody who was nice, somebody who should have helped him - after all, Zimmerman was the block captain of his neighborhood watch and apparently knew the complex well, he could have helped a lost visitor get home, that would have been a reasonable thing for him to do - instead, Zimmerman shot the boy dead.

[The Backlash Cometh]

50. How cold was that night?

Someone raised in Miami would have been freezing if it was below 70 degrees. That would also be a reason why he was moving funny to keep warm, why he went toward the car for help, why his hands were in his pockets to stay warm.

This is just making me sicker to my stomach thinking how normal that boy's behavior was in the last minutes of his life, and how Zimmerman so badly assessed the entire thing.

If Zimmerman didn't wound to slow him down, what if Trayvon stopped, as he was asked to do and Zimmerman just went crazy? Or Trayvon realized he had to turn and face Zimmerman because he had no where else to go?

As for Trayvon's voice sounding strange to his parents (Something the police claimed the dad said), how does a voice sound when it's in shrill fear, and possibly has someone on his chest?

[yardwork]

51. Since the police have lied about so many other things, I have no reason to believe what they said

about the parents not recognizing Trayvon's voice. I flat out don't believe anything the police say at this point unless I get corroboration from the source.

In Sanford, Florida there was a low of 52 degrees F on the night of February 26. It was raining. The high that day was 71 degrees. Trayvon was shot at around 7:30 pm, I believe. http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/USFL0443?month=-1

[The Backlash Cometh]

52. There is your answer. He was freezing.

A hoodie would not have been enough. I know because I have Miami relatives.

And yes, you might as well all know. Lying is a job skill in this county. Lawyers lie, Mayors lie, and if you do it well enough they make you president of the local business organization.

[slackmaster]

53. That's not nearly enough detail for me to make any kind of determination as to the legality...

...of the shooting.

I need to know exactly what Zimmerman perceived as a threat, exactly what transpired in the moments leading up to the shooting.

Obviously the shooting was morally wrong. I think just about everyone on this board would agree that it wasn't necessary and that it was a tragic waste of life. The question I want to see answered is whether or not the shooting was LEGAL. If so, then the law needs to be questioned in a very serious way.

[Blue_Tires]

45. If Trayvon were white, Zimmerman NEVER would have tailed him in the first place

or called the police dispatch...

That's the point...

[etherealtruth]

18. Since the young man is dead ... I am sure he would have done things differently!

The real question is: should he have done things differently? should he have lived his short life constantly worrying about what some racist nut-job might do? Sadly, the poor kid should have.

It is not Trayvon's fault ... he was murdered in cold blood ... I don't care what the little Podunk skinhead police department says!

Clearly, this has struck a horrid note with me

[Quantess]

19. Well gee, if the boy were psychic

he would have had a premonition not to walk down the street that day.

[uppityperson]

20. No shit Sherlock. You think he'd chose to be shot again? If only he could've seen the future, he

would never have walked anywhere near that area to get murdered.

[yardwork]

21. I rarely want to punch somebody. This is one of those times.

I hope to see this police chief lose his job.

[The Backlash Cometh]

37. If we follow precedent,

He will get the greatest award recognition that Florida has to offer an officer, and then sometime after that, he'll retire or become City Manager of Sanford.

[11 Bravo]

42. I'll hold him. You can kick him in the nuts.

[Blue_Tires]

46. No matter the outcome of the case, that chief should be fired

along with any other officers who have played a role in suppressing this case

[Dawson Leery]

23. Grand Wizard Bill Lee.

[Ruby the Liberal]

24. Was he wearing his sheet for the interview?

I guess if the kid could go back and change things, he would have been white, wherein Zimmerman would have helpfully offered him a ride home.

[riderinthestorm]

25. Disgusting! nt

[XanaDUer]

26. I just read that

(I'm from Miami and following this case)
Disgusting victim blaming and the DOJ. NEeds to get involved.

[Cali_Democrat]

28. I really hope they get involved

There's something clearly wrong with the Sanford Police Department and their bigoted police chief.

[XanaDUer]

29. The feds and FDLE. Eed to look at that dept

Now I'm reading a previous chief resigned due to a cop's son hitting a man with a weapon and being let ho . This is scary. To serve and protect my ass.

[COLGATE4]

30. Yep. If he could do it all over again

he'd have been born white. Asshole.

[Initech]

31. File this one under "You're Not Helping The Case At All."

[librechik]

40. if he had it to do over again

he should have chosen white parents to be born to.

What an absurd remark for a Chief policeman to make.

Actually, I suppose he should have stood up like a man and not begged for his life.

Or maybe he could have avoided annoying Zimmerman by not existing at all. Annoyance is reason to kill, right?

[onethatcares]

41. how the fuck can you be in fear for your life if

you are chasing someone?

This is Floriduh at it's very worst and the hits keep coming. Three weeks ago a pastor shot and killed his daughter

while showing a handgun in church of all fucking places, a black older guy shot an Iraq War vet for standing up for

a skateboarding kid, and another kid is going on trial today for killing a St. Petersburg cop.

I'm going to buy a few pistols myself in a few minutes, wouldn't want to be underarmed now.

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. Done something different

Like not go home? The stupidity, burns!

[RockaFowler]

49. I will ask again

What gave this guy the right to be judge, jury and executioner that night?? What exactly is his defense?? There is a kid running away?? So, why is it Trayvon's fault that he was lost??

There are so many things wrong with this - most importantly, why was he an armed man shooting first and asking questions later??

[mistertrickster]

54. Horseshit . . . where are the injuries on Zimmerman?

And where the eff were the police after Zimmerman called them?

The kid should have run for the closest donut shop.