Trayvon's girlfriend was never even questioned by the Sanford Police

[Cali_Democrat]

She was on the phone with Trayvon. She heard the altercation and the police arrived only 5 minutes later. The Sanford police obviously must have had Trayvon's cell phone. They didn't even really investigate...they never even contacted her to get information from her. WTF?

What the hell kind of operation is Bill Lee and his police department running down there in Sanford Florida? Not only should Zimmerman be prosecuted for murder, but that entire police department should be sued by the Martin family.

CNN says the girl apparently has not been questioned by police in Sanford, Fla.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/03/reports-treyvon-martin-was-on-cellphone-when-he-was-shot/1?csp=34news

[Baitball Blogger]

1. Why are we only hearing now that there was a cellphone?

Yes, I would consider that sloppy detective work. They knew there was a witness to the crime which would have proved that Trayvon was innocent of any suspicious intentions.

[marlakay]

2. This is such an obvious case of police saying the kill was okay

and in the old days before 24 hr news, internet, FB and twitter they might have got away with it. Not anymore, the media especially online will not let it die down. The good ole boys system doesn't work well in the modern age. No wonder they want to censor the internet.

[KansDem]

8. "No wonder they want to censor the internet."

Astute observation!

Just like Rodney King would have been just another black man "subdued for resisting arrest" if it hadn't been for the video...

[RockaFowler]

3. Please do not be offended by this anyone

But this is what we would call the Good Ole Boys Network. There are pockets of Florida where they protect their own and don't take to kindly to "others". It is so disgusting to me. And I have lived in this state almost my entire life. I saw it in Naples when I lived there as a child. My family was called foreign because my Father was from Egypt. I saw it in Chiefland where my in-laws live. I see it in Ft Walton and Crestview where my mother lives. Heck I see it here in my backyard of Martin County. THe Good Ole Boys still control the police. They control the courts and thus control what gets done and what doesn't. It's very sad.

[SamG]

7. Not at all offensive for you to tell us..

what is probably the truth in much of FL and other Southern states.

Some of us Northerners only visit your state for winter vacations, we don't see or deal with police and courts. We need to know what really goes on down there.

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. And also, believe it or not, big cities in Northern states...

http://lauriebembenek.blogspot.com/2010/11/part-i-matter-of-credibility.html

"Good Ole Boy" networks unfortunately exist both north and south of the Mason Dixon line. Don't get me started on the St Clair Shores Police. And they are in MI.

[RockaFowler]

13. I remember them, too

We lived in a small town in Michigan. Again they didn't like our kind - Egyptians and *gasp* Jewish. I guess we were supposed to go to West Bloomfield to be with our own kind. Bigotry is all over. And I have lived through it. I wanted to make the point about Florida in particular. But yes it's like this all over . . . sadly.

[SamG]

15. I'm afraid I have to admit, racism can be anywhere!

But I think on a per-capita basis, it happens more in some places than others.

[LiberalFighter]

9. And they need to be totally weeded out.

There should be minimum standards required for anyone serving in law enforcement. And testing needs to be done regularly that will alert problems.

Part of the problem is that law enforcement is a place that encourages power abuse.

[izquierdista]

16. Not just testing

There need to be undercover "criminals" who commit misdemeanors to serve as a quality control check on the justice system. People whose job it is to shoplift, drive around with a broken taillight, maybe even picket a public building, with a camera trained on them so that the WHOLE event can be reviewed later to see if the law enforcement officer was doing what he was trained to do. Once the "criminal" has been booked, the law enforcement quality control group should be able to spring their plant and review every single second of the law enforcement/"criminal" interaction and do the necessary weeding.

I dare say, it wouldn't be long before a lot of thugs had to go out and find honest work.

[COLGATE4]

18. You're right. Sanford, Florida has 2 things

that distinguish it: 1) it's the southern terminus of the rickety Amtrak car train that brings the seniors south with their Caddys to 'God's waiting room' in the winter and 2) although it's probably a bedroom community of Orlando, it has none of the sophistication and cosmopolitan aire about it that the Mouse brought to Central Florida. Sanford is unremittingly the "old South", where the good ol' boys rule and blacks knew their place.

[bluerum]

4. Willful negligence? Just plain incompetence? Sloppy policing?

Or outright racial discrimination?

My money is on all of the above.

[lpbk2713]

5. They probably thought it was an open and shut case.

Until it hit the media and they started hearing from the public.

[CakeGrrl]

6. That police dept needs a good flushing.

This is obscenely ridiculous.

I hope the Feds are all OVER this.

[uponit7771]

10. There were also witness's!! Right near the shooting!! I don't know if they JUST came out or if they

...were questioned but they give a detailed account of what happened right before the shooting

[polly7]

12. And this from another site:

What Everyone Should Know About Trayvon Martin (1995-2012), The Young Man Whose Killer Remains Free

On February 26, 2012, a 17-year-old African-American named Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida. The shooter was George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old white man. Zimmerman admits killing Martin, but claims he was acting in self-defense. Three weeks after Martin’s death, no arrests have been made and Zimmerman remains free.

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/864644/what_everyone_should_know_about_trayvon_martin_%281995-2012%29%2C_the_young_man_whose_killer_remains_free/

12. A police officer “corrected” a key witness. “The officer told the witness, a long-time teacher, it was Zimmerman who cried for help, said the witness. ABC News has spoken to the teacher and she confirmed that the officer corrected her when she said she heard the teenager shout for help.” [ABC News]

13. Three witnesses say they heard a boy cry for help before a shot was fired.“Three witnesses contacted by The Miami Herald say they saw or heard the moments before and after the Miami Gardens teenager’s killing. All three said they heard the last howl for help from a despondent boy.” [Miami Herald]

14. The officer in charge of the crime scene also received criticism in 2010 when he initially failed to arrest a lieutenant’s son who was videotaped attacking a homeless black man. [New York Times]

[lpbk2713]

14. Something definitely has the odor of spoiled tuna at the Sanford PD.

My guess is they need an overhaul from top to bottom.

[ecstatic]

17. And Zimmerman wasn't tested for alcohol or drugs, while Trayvon M. was!

Some people need to be fired!