*TRAYVON MARTIN – Shoot and killed on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida not by the police, but rather a neighborhood watch captain. Martin, 17, was observed by George Zimmerman in the area where he resided/worked but he was not ‘on duty’ at the time. He felt that Martin was acting suspiciously and that there had been a number of burglaries in the area.
Zimmerman called a non-emergency police line to report the individual as being a suspicious and was watching him from his parked vehicle. Zimmerman also stated to the police dispatcher – who was simultaneously sending officers to the location based on the call – that Martin had looked back at Zimmerman, turned and walked towards him and “circled his vehicle,” raising his level of suspicion. Martin then continued to walk and out of Zimmerman’s view.
Zimmerman then exited his vehicle was still on the phone to ascertain Martin’s location. The dispatcher informed him, “we don’t need you to do that.” Zimmerman then stated that he was returning to his vehicle when Martin approached him from behind and confronted him, punching him in the face and knocking him to the ground. Brown the straddled Zimmerman and began hitting his head against the concrete ground, according to Zimmerman. 
At that point, Zimmerman began to cry out for help, as Martin – 11 years his junior but three inches taller and of similar weight – covered his mouth and continued the assault. Zimmerman was carrying a legal weapon that Martin took notice of and stated, “You’re going to die tonight,” while trying to take it from Zimmerman’s person. He and Martin began to struggle over the gun and Zimmerman was able to pull it out and fire a shot, killing Martin.
The police arrived shortly after the shooting and took Zimmerman into custody. After approximately five hours being interviewed, he was released without being charged due to it being in self defense and Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” statute.
Numerous local, state and federal agencies conducted lengthy investigations and all came to the same conclusion – Zimmerman shot Martin in self defense.
POLICE POINT OF VIEW
Zimmerman’s initial intentions were in all likelihood noble, but this is a perfect example of letting the experts do the dirty work. As a neighborhood watch captain, Zimmerman felt obligated to help and point the police in the right direction. But when confronted, he was not trained to handle the situation properly.
But from a practical standpoint (there were eyewitness accounts and background cries for help on 911 calls that substantiated Zimmerman’s account, as well as the injuries he sustained as a result of Martin’s assault), it appeared that Zimmerman felt he had no other alternative at the time but use deadly physical force.
Would a trained police officer have done the same thing? Perhaps, but a uniformed officer stopping and questioning Martin would have resulted in him being properly identified and allowed to be at the location, thereby being sent on his way without incident. And to be objective from both sides, Martin had every right to be suspicious of Zimmerman, who he perceived as someone following him for no reason. But once he assaulted Zimmerman and allegedly tried to take his gun, he loses any presumption of innocence that he previously had.
Martin – black, Zimmerman – hispanic/white
@MalcolmJenkins I would love the opportunity to discuss the #NFLProtest issue with you, more specifically a case-by-case basis between the police & public:https://t.co/6SrWzUZ6yS
— Joe Pietaro (@MuscleSportMag) August 13, 2018
