MSNBC Demands Police Chief's Suspension

On the boob tube, Andrea Mitchell and her gal pal Rachel Maddow just now insisted that they know best in the case of the killing in Sanford, Florida and not local or state government.  After all, Sanford is in the "SOUTHERN" part of central Floroda.

Mitchell interviewed a Mr. Bonaparte, the city manager.  He is African American.  She badgered, bullied and ridiculed him and the city of Sanford in a clear attempt to force him to suspend the Chief of Police.  Bonaparte patiently explained to this harridan that the situation on the ground was and is not yet clear and that under Florida law that situation must be made clear for state, city and now federal authorities before anything can be done to George Zimmerman, the admitted shooter, who insists that the dead youth assaulted him.

Maddow and Mitchell then launched themselves "into orbit" with a hand-wringing cry from the heart about guns, beastly laws and the political penalties that will be paid by "sinning" lawmakers and Jeb Bush.

So now we have truth expressed and we understand that MSNBC runs Florida, not Floridians.  They do this, of course with the help of the Reverend Al Sharpton and the Reverend Jesse Jackson (Rainbow Coalition) who are appealing for mass marches in New York City (?) and Sanford,  The Reverend Al, of Tawana Brawley fame, seems tired of blueberry themed commercials and now turns his hand once again to matters of racial justice.

Inconveniently, George Zimmerman is a Spanish speaking Latino with African American relatives according to his father.  Well, that's close enough.  pl

 http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mitchell-reports/46823838

 

Comments

[Medicine Man]

I think I'll pass on watching MSNBC thanks.

The actual incident itself is troubling, with or without the racial speculation. State and Federal authorities are involved in the investigation now. Everything else is theatre.

[Lars]

I guess we get a little different take on this, since it has dominated local news down here in Central Florida and that started right after it happened. One problem is the law that allows you to shoot anyone you think is threatening you. It is too broad and has too little accountability.

According to the man who wrote the law, the gunman in this case should have been arrested and prosecuted. There is rather widespread concurrence with that locally. There are also few people feeling sorry for the police chief. He and his department has not done a very good job.

Other than that, I would caution anyone to believe anything they see on TV. It is probably the least informed media there is.

[turcopolier]

Lars

When I see a Black city manager defendig due process like this my heart warms. I don't go for this "get a rope" stuff, especially when cheered on by these harpies. pl

[Dongo]

Col. Lang,

First, I want to be very clear that I have a low opinion of the sensational, shallow journalism on MSNBC, and generally agree with your critique of it. Seeing clowns like Sharpton exploit this tragedy is also infuriating.

However, do you think that there's even a shadow of a chance that if a black man had followed, assaulted, and then fatally shot an unarmed white teenager (and then admitted all of this to the police), that he wouldn't have been arrested and charged with at least some sort of crime?

As I see it, that's the scandal here.

[turcopolier]

Dongo

"if a black man had followed, assaulted, and then fatally shot an unarmed white teenager (and then admitted all of this to the police),"

Due process! Due process Due process!!! pl

[Dongo]

Col. Lang,

Isn't the first part of due process an arrest after numerous witness accounts (such as the 911 calls), an admission of having shot an unarmed man, and all the other evidence here? I'm no lawyer, but that seems to be the standard operating procedure for homicides in every city where I've lived.

It just seems to me that the police department in this jurisdiction is conspicuously refusing to initiate a process of any sort.

I'm not saying that Zimmerman should be lynched (and I'm upset by some folks who do seem to be more or less calling for that), but the case should at least be taken seriously.

[Lars]

Due process is what did not happened 3 weeks ago, when this happened. Only after political pressure was applied and it has taken the involvement of outside law enforcement agencies to get it on track. No doubt the competence of the police department is now an issue, but more importantly, was a crime committed and then ignored?

[Morocco Bama]

The more appropriate shoe on the other foot scenario, Dongo, would be "if a black man had followed, assaulted, and then fatally shot an unarmed hispanic teenager." It's a little more ambiguous, and wouldn't grab the headlines quite as readily, so this story has gained traction because the presumption is the shooter is white because he has a white name...Zimmerman. This is an interesting case that could be discussed and analyzed intelligently and informatively, but that's not what the MSM's all about.

Has it been proven that Zimmerman assaulted Martin? The reports from the police have it as the other way around. See, this is how the media can bias the story. You have accepted in your mind already that the shooter assaulted Martin prior to shooting him, and that may not be true.

[Russ]

I don't plan to watch CNN's legal correspondent Nancy Grace(less) show on this or any other case but given her track record in the past her performance on this case is likely to exceed that of Maddow and Mitchell in inappropriate sensationalism.

[Fred]

Here's the link I found.

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mitchell-reports/46810711#46823838

I must say that the most professional conduct in this interview was Mr. Bonaparte's. As he indicated the city manager wants information(facts) first. As he indicated the City turned the mater over to the State Attorneys' office. The Governor also asked for FDLE to review the matter. The city mayor and local Representative in Congress have asked the US DOJ to review this matter.

None of this satisfies MSNBC, apparently.

News flash for Andrea Mitchell, the police chief of the city of Sanford did not shoot anyone, a private citizen did so. That is the case that is under review. I wonder if Andrea will be calling for the suspension of the Chief of Police in NYC the next time one of their officers shoots an unarmed man of the opposite race?

If MSNBC is so worried about race relations and injustice in 'Southern' Florida they should take a road trip to Arcadia or Immokalee and see how the migrant workers are treated. Of course all those low cost fruits and vegetables she enjoys in NYC year round, well, there's a reason they are so affordable, not that it concerns a multi-millionaire like Andrea Mitchell enough to go investigate.

[robt willmann]

This might be the MSNBC television story referred to, or something similar--

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mitchell-reports/46823838/#46823838

[alinaustex]

Colonel Lang
Due process indeed .

[optimax]

It is unclear what happened in this shooting. The shooter was foolish for following the young man while armed, after all, the police were on the way and nobody else was in danger. But as Eric Holder said about extrajudicial executions, "Due process does not mean judiacial process."
Add that to the fact the NSA has been illegally spying on US citizens for years, the fourth amendment isn't worth the paper it's written on. It amazes me how the left and right pretend to be bitter enemies while working in concert to restrict our rights and the media plays the role of the referee always on the side of the little guy.

[The beaver]

Colonel

Video
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/mitchell-reports/46823838/

[Matthew]

Col: I do believe that this case deserves due process....and I don't mean the DSK kind. The facts are so troubling that the man must be subject to a public process. He shot an unarmed man on a public street after being advised by law enforcement NOT to follow the young man.

The burden of proof regarding the appropriateness of using deadly force is on Mr. Zimmerman. He is not presumed guilty, but, neither is his affirmative defense presumed valid.

[SteveB]

There's a reason Florida has it's own tag on fark.com.

http://www.fark.com/topic/florida

No other state apparently qualifies for this ignoble distinction.

[Lars]

This it not the first time something like this has happened in Sanford and it is becoming part of a pattern for the police department. Whites shooting blacks have been excused before.

The chief has now stepped down "temporarily". You can rest assured that there will be a laser light on this and MSNBC will probably not furnish the brightest one.

[turcopolier]

lars

Is Zimmerman "white?" pl

[Matthew]

Col; I guess it depends on which Hispanic you ask. BTW, this article provides a good overview on the legal issues. See http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/03/florida_s_stand_your_ground_law_doesn_t_prohibit_that_they_arrest_george_zimmerman_for_killing_trayvon_martin_.html

Legal defenses are always evaluated based upon the facts of the case. A grand jury will purportedly review the facts of this case on April 10. They will decide whether Mr. Zimmerman--the pursuer--was acting in self-defense. Or was Mr. Martin, who was being pursued, acting in self-defense?

[Tyler]

Zimmerman is a latino raised and adopted by jews.

The media has repeatedly attempted to turn this into a white on black shooting of an innocent honor student. Let's review some facts. Trayvon was suspended from his old school and living with his dad to trt and straighten him out. Zimmerman had grass stains on his back and was bleeding from his head, consistent with the description of him being assaulted by Trayvon in the dominant position on him. The 911 call was played for Trayvon's father, who said the person screaming for he3lp was not his son.

However let's ignore all the instances of knockout king, polar bear hunting, grab and snatch robberies, and other instances of whites being murdered raped and killed by urban "youths" (media's euphemism for blacks) so some northeast liberals can get their rocks off and feel self righteous about guns and "racism".

[optimax]

There are white-hispanics and nonwhite-hispanics and unknown knowns. Zimmerman will be whatever he wants to be labeled.

[Morocco Bama]

It's interesting the inconsistency of the MSM in determining someone's race. In Obama's case, he's black. In this fella's case, he's white.

[citizen]

Col,

The topic of Mr. Zimmerman's race is being dealt with, folks are running interference and doing damage control. The meme gun was jumped.

Mr. Zimmerman is a "white Hispanic." It is true that the phrase is a preexisting one, but I've never heard quite so much about "white Hispanics" in the mainstream before. Is this going to be a permanent meme? Will we now hear analysis of the political and social trends amongst "white Hispanics" ? In terms of spoils system identity politics, how will "white Hispanics" factor?

There is lots of speculation as to the Zimmerman side, but no clear cut information, other than George was raised Catholic. I'd hesitate to speculate because Zimmerman is a common German surname across religions, as are many other surnames. My mother's maiden name is good example, it is a typically Jewish one, but her ancestors weren't, unless somebody converted 2 or more centuries ago. In any case, it does make the story, or rather, how it will be handled, more interesting.

We are being reminded, lectured at really, that focusing on Mr. Zimmerman's race takes away from the central point of the story- the tragic death. I'm inclined to agree, but the cynic in me suspects if Mr. Zimmerman did not have the Cuban connection, we'd be hearing lots more about neo-Nazis, Tea Party racists, and the Southern Poverty Law Center would have already gone into fund-raising overdrive.

[Medicine Man]

That's a good bet. Nancy Grace is frightening.

[kao_hsien_chih]

I might be out of line for suggesting this, but I do wonder if this is something that happens when suburbanites who don't know what they are doing get trigger happy (granted, this is based on completely speculative conjecture on my part). No doubt this will lead to calls for stricter gun control among other things, and that gives me all sorts of mixed feelings. I think it's deplorable to take guns away from people who know what they are doing, but I also think there are way too many people who don't know what they are doing with guns. It might be a good idea, perhaps, that we should give more or less everyone firearms training (both how to use guns and to use it responsibly) the way we do driver's ed?