Thread: Unarmed black teenager was shot by neighbourhood watch volunteer

The US justice department has begun an investigation into the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Florida by a neighbourhood watch captain.

The announcement came after a day of protests calling for the arrest of the Florida volunteer, George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman, 28, claims he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last month in self-defence during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford, Florida.

Zimmerman spotted Martin as he was patrolling his neighbourhood on a rainy evening last month and called the police emergency dispatcher to report a suspicious person. Against the advice of the emergency dispatcher, Zimmerman then followed Martin, who was walking home from a convenience store with a bag of Skittles sweets in his pocket.

The justice department said in a statement late on Monday that the FBI and the US attorney's office will join in the agency's investigation.

"The department will conduct a thorough and independent review of all the evidence and take appropriate action at the conclusion of the investigation," the agency said.

The case has garnered national attention. Civil rights activist Al Sharpton is expected to join Sanford city leaders in a Tuesday evening town hall meeting to discuss how the investigation is being handled with residents. The justice department said its community relations service will also be in Sanford this week to meet with authorities, community officials and civil rights leaders "to address tension in the community".

Earlier on Monday, college students around Florida rallied to demand Zimmerman's arrest, though authorities may be hamstrung by a state law that allows people to defend themselves with deadly force.

Prosecutors may not be able to charge Zimmerman because of changes to state law in 2005. Under the old law, people could use deadly force in self-defence only if they had tried to run away or otherwise avoid the danger.

Under the new law, there is no duty to retreat and it gives a Floridian the right "to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force," if he feels threatened.

Students held rallies on the campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee and outside the Seminole county criminal justice centre, where prosecutors are reviewing the case to determine if charges should be filed. The students demanded Zimmerman's arrest.

"I don't think a man who exited his vehicle after the 911 dispatcher told him to stay inside the car can claim self-defence," Carl McPhail, a 28-year-old Barry University law school student, said at the Sanford rally.

The 70 protesters at the Sanford rally chanted "What if it was your son?" and held posters saying, "This is not a race issue." Many carried Skittles.
Martin's parents and other advocates have said the shooter would have been arrested had he been black.

"You would think that Sanford is still in the 1800s claiming that this man can call self-defence for shooting an unarmed boy," restaurant owner Linda Tillman said.

Florida congresswoman Corrine Brown along with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, had asked the justice department to review the case, and White House spokesman Jay Carney said earlier on Monday during a briefing that officials there were aware of what happened.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Trayvon Martin's family," Carney said at the time. "But obviously we're not going to wade into a local law enforcement matter."

Florida Governor Rick Scott has directed the state department of law enforcement to help local authorities in their investigation. The governor said in a memo to department Commissioner Gerald Bradley that the circumstances surrounding the death "have caused significant concern within the Sanford community and the state".

Prosecutors can have a hard time making a case if there is no one else around to contradict a person who claims self-defence, said David Hill, a criminal defence attorney in Orlando. So far, Sanford police have said there is no evidence to contradict Zimmerman's claims.

"If there is nobody around and you pull a gun, you just say, 'Hey, I reasonably believed I was under imminent attack. Hey, sorry. Too bad. But you can't prosecute me,'" Hill said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

Gun control advocates said the case is emblematic of permissive gun laws in Florida, which was among the first states to allow residents to carry concealed weapons. Florida was the first state to pass a "Stand Your Ground" law, which has been dubbed a "Shoot First" law by gun control advocates.

Currently, about half of all US states have similar laws, said Brian Malte, legislative director of the Brady Campaign, which describes itself as the nation's largest organisation dedicated to the prevention of gun violence.

"It's coming to dangerous fruition," Malte said. "There are more states like Florida."

The "Stand Your Ground" law's legislative sponsor, Florida Representative Dennis Baxley, said it was not written to give people the power to pursue and confront others.

"That's not what this legislation does," said Baxley, a Republican.

"Unfortunately, every time there is an unfortunate incident involving a firearm, they think it's about this law, and it's not."

US justice department to investigate Trayvon Martin killing | World news | guardian.co.uk

Originally Posted by gwargamel

"I don't think a man who exited his vehicle after the 911 dispatcher told him to stay inside the car can claim self-defence,"

One would hope not.

Useless news story
hardly explains what happened
just bleats on and on
worlds gayest newspaper from the UK
The Guardian

This teens death is no useless news story it is all over the US. It will have major legal and political impact...

Really awful. The dispatcher told the AWIG not to the follow the boy. Utterly senseless killing.

Originally Posted by robuzo

Really awful. The dispatcher told the AWIG not to the follow the boy. Utterly senseless killing.

Then the man stalked him and shot the teen as he begged for help..

Yet according to Florida law if you "claim" self defense then you can not be arrested. I do support concealed carry and self defense in the US and I think that it is far better then the hell that exists in the UK where you can not even defend your property, however this is not justifiable on any level..

Originally Posted by gwargamel

This teens death is no useless news story it is all over the US. It will have major legal and political impact...

Excuse me
I meant the quality of reporting
it does not tell how he ended up getting shot in a gated estate
just that he was followed

I very much doubt the response would have been the same if it was a white teenager!

I just feel sick.


RIP, kid.

Originally Posted by Jesus Jones

I very much doubt the response would have been the same if it was a white teenager!

Very true. the white teen would have never been a suspect and would have not been shot begging for help.

Originally Posted by Jesus Jones

I very much doubt the response would have been the same if it was a white teenager!

Same story but a white guy in a black neighborhood, try that out as a thought experiment.

Blacks kill blacks all day every day over the most frivolous of shit, but when the shooter is non black it's a big deal. I don't think race had anything to do with the shooting, the shooter isn't even white, his mother is a dark skinned "latino" from Central or South America, or some island. Martin is probably one of these innocent youths with a juvenile record as long as his arm. These neighborhood watch guys are usually a bunch of wannabe cops who can't seem to mind their own fucking business, I know a few.

^ nice to see you supporting Mr Zimmerman, Mr Gibbs - here's for you, buddy.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

^ nice to see you supporting Mr Zimmerman, Mr Gibbs - here's for you, buddy.

Hey look, this idiot thinks you can tell a persons religion by their surname! I'm not supporting either side, I'm against the media (which is heavily controlled by the Jews, just ask Rick Sanchez) who were jizzing in their drawers at the thought of portraying this story as racially motivated. An innocent black kid getting shot by some white racist for no reason, when in reality the shooter isn't white, but hispanic.

Originally Posted by gwargamel

Originally Posted by robuzo

Really awful. The dispatcher told the AWIG not to the follow the boy. Utterly senseless killing.

Then the man stalked him and shot the teen as he begged for help..

Yet according to Florida law if you "claim" self defense then you can not be arrested. I do support concealed carry and self defense in the US and I think that it is far better then the hell that exists in the UK where you can not even defend your property, however this is not justifiable on any level..

Changed a lot recently.

Been a couple of home owners / business owners who have killed intruders over the last 6 months with no charges brought.

Originally Posted by Mr Gribbs

Hey look, this idiot thinks you can tell a persons religion by their surname!

I've never met or heard of a Zimmerman who wasn't Jewish.

So, you hate the Jews, hate the blacks, that's a lot of the World population done. Keep going, you'll get there...

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Originally Posted by Mr Gribbs

Hey look, this idiot thinks you can tell a persons religion by their surname!

I've never met or heard of a Zimmerman who wasn't Jewish.

So, you hate the Jews, hate the blacks, that's a lot of the World population done. Keep going, you'll get there...

Where did you get that from? I said the media wants to make this out as racial. There is nothing racist about acknowleding a lot of black kids got records, and the media tries to portray them as saints. I see it every day on the local news, so and so was good boy, then you learn he has been convicted of half a dozen violent crimes.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Originally Posted by Mr Gribbs

Hey look, this idiot thinks you can tell a persons religion by their surname!

I've never met or heard of a Zimmerman who wasn't Jewish.

I have, it's quite a common name in Europe and the US.

Zimmermann is a German surname and the occupational name in German for a carpenter. As a surname, it is often confused with Zimmerman; the variance "nn" or "n" may have a number of implications: racial, ethnic and religious among them.[1] As an occupational name, it derives from the Middle High German zimbermann, a compound of zimber, zim(m) er ‘timber’, ‘wood’ + mann ‘man’.

Zimmermann - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's also the name for a German guild of journeymen carpenters wearing distinctive black and white clothes.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

I've never met or heard of a Zimmerman who wasn't Jewish.

I have, but never mind.
Zimmmerman will probably get off because of Florida's laws which make it practically impossible to convict someone if they say they acted in self defense.

Originally Posted by Humbert

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

I've never met or heard of a Zimmerman who wasn't Jewish.

I have, but never mind.
Zimmmerman will probably get off because of Florida's laws which make it practically impossible to convict someone if they say they acted in self defense.

Plenty of people in Pennsylvania named Zimmerman who are not Jewish. The most famous one, from Duluth, is.

The gun carriers have a lot of rights in the US.
Stupid laws.
This man belongs out of society.
I wonder how he'll like being in prison with 80% blacks?

I'm kind of wondering how he can live with himself after murdering an unarmed kid.