The Sanford police report...

"... the Sanford Police Department report, written by the officer at the crime scene who handcuffed Zimmerman. “I could observe his back appeared to be wet and was covered in grass, as if he had been laying on his back on the ground,” the officer wrote. “Zimmerman was also bleeding from the nose and back of his head.”

When Zimmerman was placed in the back of the squad car and given first aid, the officer heard him say, “I was yelling for someone to help me, but no one would help me,” according to the police report.

On at least one of the eight taped 911 calls made to police, screams can be heard in the background. Martin’s parents believe it is their son screaming for help. But a friend of Zimmerman’s said on television Monday he believed it was Zimmerman’s voice in the background.

A federal law enforcement official involved in the investigation said that Zimmerman told authorities he was returning to his sport-utility vehicle after calling police when Martin confronted him."  Hurwitz in Washpost

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The media have a lot to answer for in this matter.  It will be interesting to learn what Holder's Justice Department is going to do in this case.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trayvon-martin-started-confrontation-zimmerman-lawyer-says/2012/03/26/gIQAIlr0cS_story.html

 

 

 

Comments

[steve g]

Wow!!

Let the backpedaling and recriminations begin.
Is there a video of his interview with the
investigating detective as in A&E's first 48
series? That would be even more interesting.
The demonization of the SPD seems to be
back firing.

[OmoNaija]

Hopefully there are pictures of the injuries, that should be SOP.

The unfortunate thing here is that the media has taken over and we are faced with a battle of competing narratives. Each side leaking information to muddle the overall picture.

As other have said, Zimmerman is not the monster he is presented as and either is Trayvon. But the law is an a*s and needs to be changed.

[Buzz Meeks]

Reminds me of Jim Lehrer of "News Hour"almost singlehandedly being responsible for the Rodney King/LA riots back in 1991. Lehrer had cut most of most of the already edited tape that had been broadcast on the local LA television station and kept repeating the edited clip. If I recall correctly, CNN and other outlets made the Lehrer cut the "official" version.

[Medicine Man]

Yep, this is what happens when you have a media that is only interested in producing an entertainment product.

If this is the whole story then Trayvon is a dumb kid and it unfortunately cost him.

[Fred]

Looks like a campaign of 'perception' management not being completely in the control of either side of this issue, certainly not the MSM.

[OmoNaija]

Buzz Meeks,

Thats a bad example. The Police under no circumstances are allowed to gang up and pummel a single individual to the extent exhibited by the LAPD.

Things might not be great at the moment, but we are not a Banana republic; where a uniform and a gun is license to run rod shod over the population.

LAPD Police overreach is well documented.

[Edward Amame]

Noted from the Wapo story: "[Florida’s “stand your ground” law] was backed by the National Rifle Association and opposed by police officials, who feared it would encourage untrained vigilantes to take the law into their own hands."

Looks like police officials got that one right.

[turcopolier]

Omonaija

you realize of course that you have just made the case for the behavior of the Sanford PD? pl

[turcopolier]

Edward Amae

Not if it was self defense. pl

[Matthew]

But what triggered the confrontation? From these facts, you can draw two totally different conclusions: (1) Mr. Zimmerman, while doing his daily rounds of Neighborhood Watch, noticed Mr. Martin behaving suspiciously and followed him. Mr. Martin became aggressive and initiated the confrontation. Mr. Zimmerman defended himself and only shot Mr. Martin after he was assaulted.

(2) Mr. Zimmmerman saw a black youth walking on a public street in his neighborhood. He then challenged the youth. The youth, frightened by Mr. Zimmerman's aggressiveness, initially retreated and was pursued by Mr. Ziimerman. When Mr. Martin decided to stand his ground, an altercation ensued and Mr. Martin was shot.

Both versions are possible. Can't wait for the Grand Jury.

[Edward Amame]

At this point, I am willing to believe that Zimmerman could have been acting in self defense, but it never should have come to that. If Zimmerman thought the kid was up to no good, his job was done once he called 911, according to to director of Neighborhood Watch for the National Sheriffs' Association. Zimmerman became a vigilante the moment he stepped out of the vehicle and began to tail the suspect while carrying a loaded weapon.

[mlaw230]

Why can't it be a bit of vigilantism followed by self defense?

It appears that Mr. Zimmerman was a wannabe who pursued the kid without any probable cause at all, and the kid, who at 17 years old was probably more than a match for Zimmerman physically, may have gotten the best of him, at which point Zimmerman shot him. Just conjecture of course, but matches all of the known evidence.

From the report it would seem they should have a recording of Zimmerman's interview and photos of his wounds. It would also be likely that Trayvon's hands would be bruised. If they don't have pictures then something is up.

There is no way to know whether this Oliver character is even really Zimmerman's friend, whether the Face book pages are really Trayvons, etc...

[Morocco Bama]

Were the thugs who threw the brick at Reginald Denney's head and beat him and Fidel Lopez and countless others during the 1992 LA Riots head ever brought to justice? Did Sharpton or Jesse Jackson or the media really give a hoot? Is the same thing going to be tolerated this time around...except in Orlando? It will be interesting to see how that plays out with the Stand Your Ground law in effect in Florida where it wasn't in LA in 1992. Some thugs will end up getting their come uppance of they cross that line down in Florida. If the cops don't keep the thugs in check when Zimmerman isn't prosecuted, then the Stand You Grounders will. The media is inculcating a riot, but this time the stakes could be much higher, because there are going to be more non-black people who aren't going to just lay down and get beaten to within inches of their life during a riot of thuggery. Those guns will now be needed more than ever. I know I would have one if I was anywhere near that area, or in Miami.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1cb_1304689062

[Morocco Bama]

Matthew, it may well be that the Grand Jury will only have Zimmerman's word to go on, and if that's the case, there is no case, and Zimmerman won't be charged. And then what? See my post above. This won't be pretty, but it's not going to be LA. The thugs are ready to riot. They're just looking for any excuse to pillage, plunder and destroy and romp. Stand Your Ground will come in handy if the police are overwhelmed like they were in LA and no one was there to defend and protect those who weren't looking for a conflict.

[Buzz Meeks]

I am talking about the editing, not the action. The fellow who shot the original King footage offered to sell the tape to LAPD, they passed. At the time I believe the City of LA was budgeting around $60 million a year to settle police brutality cases before the King thing happened.

I don't know where you have been if you haven't seen what has been done at the various Occupys by armed tugs. 30,000 drones coming soon, air space already designated thanks to Schumer. Banana Republic? Steal $1.2 billion and still walking around?

[Sylvia]

Strange that over 200 pound, 5'9", Zimmerman, who after being assaulted by 140 pound, 6'3", Martin, didn't pick himself up off the ground, walk back to his truck, where his gun was 'likely-located' and wait for the 911 officer to arrive that he'd called earlier? Surely he would have felt safe in his vehicle equipped with a fire arm that he could have waved in Martin's face had the younger man followed him.

Pity having a gun complicated the decision-making from Zimmerman's perspective.

I guess only the Grand jury decides whether there's enough evidence to proceed to trial--a very complicated decision that possibly could end in stalemate?

[Jake]

DoH!http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/poitier/135/doh.wav

[PeterHug]

The bottom line is, at this point none of us have any idea what happened - which is a perfect reason for a Grand Jury to have a look, and for that matter also DOJ to examine the Civil Rights aspect of it (I think that's all that the Federal Governmnet has jurisdiction over).

I presume that the Sanford PD will welcome an independent investigation as well...at this point I think it's the only way they will convince the doubters that they acted correctly, and it's also the best way for them to identify anything that they may have done improperly.

[Harper]

By weighing in publicly ("he could have been my son") President Obama has made it all but impossible for Zimmerman to get a fair trial in any jurisdiction in the country if the decision is made to bring him to trial to placade the mobs. This kind of behavior is all too typical of our President, a purported Constitutional Law Professor from the University of Chicago Law School. I used to have respect for AG Holder, but he seems to have been relegated to Mr. Cleanup for the President, going so far at a recent Northwestern University speech to claim that the President has the divine authority to determine what constitutes "due process" outside the jurisdiction of the Courts. It seems the President is claiming God-like authority to be judge, jury and executioner as in the al-Awlaki case and who knows how many others (the White House trial proceedures are secret as is the list of targets). It seems it took a Constitutional Law Professor to go far beyond Dick Cheney in promoting a brand of unitary executive power that surpasses that of Medieval Popes. The Republican candidates for President are a disaster, but sometimes it is enough just to get a break in continuity for the sake of saving what is left of the Constitution.

[Walrus]

The trouble with carrying firearms is that you may be tempted to "stand your ground" when you should be walking away.

If I had to bet on what actually happened, it would be that both Zimmerman and Martin miscalculated and they were both wrong.

I write this with trepidation both because I own firearms and my son graduates from the Police Academy shortly.

[turcopolier]

Sylvia

If you read the police report, it seems that Zimmerman was carrying the weapon in a holster. I know that this is strange to many people from gunless parts of the world and Union but in the South it is quite normal for people to have and carry guns. Yes, it is true. Southerners are different and they are not going to change. the North has been trying to "prove" to itself for 200 years that the South does not really exist, but it does and it likes itself. They don't care if you don't like them. They mostly ignore you, If you want to call them names, "cracker," "redneck," etc., go right ahead. They don't care. pl

[Matthew]

Sorry, MB, your logic is flawed. Zimmerman may be the only witness to the killing, but cross examination will reveal whether his story makes sense.

We routinely instruct juries that they--as the judge of the facts--may believe all, some, or none of what a witness says.

[citizen]

An incident like this was being waited for. The anger being expressed over this tragedy isn't about Martin, obviously. This is about a community which is extremely disenchanted and frustrated because they thought Obama was going to bring changes. They feel ignored and slighted. This has already been a topic of discussion, sf Tavis Smiley and Cornel West on Obama.

Certainly, large numbers of non-wealthy and non-Upper Middle Class Afr-Americans are suffering in this economy. The economic pain will not stop; not for them, not for a lot of people. Anytime a community is feeling anger, resentment and fear there must be a scapegoat, deserving or undeserving of opprobrium.

This tragedy enables the Afr-American community, particularly their self-appointed leaders, to express their anger in an exclusive way. It's hard to rally the Afr-American community, as a particular community, against villains such as Goldman Sachs, when everyone has suffered. Moreover, the post-1960's Leftist identity politics have shown a tendency to eschew old-fashioned Marxist class-based critics of the system; some of the biggest villains, for them, are working class whites. And it is hard to grandstand as a victim at a time when a member of one's own community is arguably the most powerful man in the World.

Martin, as a martyred figure, opens up the possibility of a renewed civil rights program with attendant political and economic payoffs- this is already being discussed. He is already part of the reelection putsch, and he is a useful distraction- anyone care about that coup in Mali or upcoming round of foreclosures in TN?

[Matthew]

Col: Your words ring true here in Texas. Actually being called "dumb" by the national media is more coveted by politicians here than being awarded a Knighthood in England.

[kao_hsien_chih]

After I heard the nonsense about Martin "could have been my son," I have no more respect for BHO than I do for Jesse Jackson, Clarence Thomas, and other race-baiting clowns.