The narrative
There are many lies most people believe about the Martin shooting. That Zimmerman was ordered not to follow, which is false. Or that Zimmerman was not arrested, also false.
After a defensive shooting, it may be a good idea to hire a PR firm: We’ve seen two cases recently, Gerald Ung and now George Zimmerman, where the parents of the shootee have hired PR firms and made life a living hell for the the shooter.
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:34 am
It’s a racial circus run by pimps and elitists.
April 3rd, 2012 at 10:22 am
I hadn’t thought of that. He was definitely arrested since he could not leave due to being handcuffed and under guard. I suppose the distinction is he wasn’t booked. To make your case stronger, you should ask to leave, if they prevent you leaving, you are under arrest.
Being arrested, his Miranda rights came into play.
I remember reading of one trick to keep from running into Miranda problems after an interview is to let the person leave then arrest them on the sidewalk outside the station. It establishes they weren’t under arrest during the interview/interrogation so didn’t have to be read their rights.
Which brings up a difficult situation. Talking to the police, before or after arrest, is documented and can be used against you. However, if you don’t talk, but demand an attorney, you’ll be held longer, possibly be booked and make the investigator more adversarial, i.e., he’ll hold you till you can see a Magistrate, a hearing for which, I think, they don’t have to provide an attorney appointing one afterwards since the hearing is just to assert their is probable cause to hold you.
April 3rd, 2012 at 12:01 pm
The only reason I really don’t have any sympathy for Zimmerman is he didn’t practice Tenet #1 of self defense, namely avoidance. Trouble avoided is trouble successfully defended against. He put himself in a bad situation by going after the kid.
It’s always better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6 but you’re a lot better off if you don’t have to deal with either one and avoidance is a good way to do that…
April 3rd, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Zimmerman did not dial 911, he called a non-emergency number.
When the operator tells Zimmerman not to follow “we don’t need you to do that,” Zimmerman says “OK”.
I’m starting to think thing would have gone better if Zimmerman was more of a mall ninja.
What if he had a Taser?
What if he had a pocket knife?
April 3rd, 2012 at 1:52 pm
Nathan,
Couldn’t you say the same about Trayvon?
For Zimmermanis it wasn’t a “self-defence” situation until they met face to face. He was doing his “neighborhood watch” duty.
If I am out in my subdivision that has been having robberies, and I see someone who looks suspicious poking around a neighbor’s house, I am probably going to do what Zimmerman did…at least what I think Zimmerman did…that is to call the po-po and keep an eye on the guy. I guess the question for me is “did Trayvon really look suspicious”, and that is subjective as hell.
I don’t think Zimmerman should have “minded his own business” if he had legitimate reason to be concerned about Trayvon…I just don’t know that he did have reason for concern.
Trayvon certainly thought he was being threatened. If he had “ran away”, he would still be alive.
Until more comes out, I can’t really put blame on either of them. It looks like a tragic case of misunderstanding on the part of both parties.
April 3rd, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Thanks for the link.
HL: The police have already said that Zimmerman was not patrolling the neighborhood, but was on a personal errand.
I think that the other, huge, lie in the narrative is that Zimmerman was some sort of neighborhood watchman. If you will remember, he was originally reported to be a “Self-appointed” neighborhood watch, and that was when they were reporting that he called 911 44 times in the last year. Turns out that he called 44 times in 8 or so years.
It has been reported that he was not really any sort of neighborhood watch at all. He was just a guy who paid attention to his surroundings. You know, sort of like they tell us when we take self defense classes, stay alert.
April 3rd, 2012 at 4:15 pm
Hey Sean,
Even still, I think it is incidental whether or not he was “offical neighborhood watch” if there is such a thing. Either way, if I am concerned about my neighborbood being victimized, I am going to be nosey if someone appears suspiciously in it, but again, I am not certain Zimmerman had a reason to view Trayvon as such.
I really don’t think either guy had violent or criminal intent. I mean it just seems pretty logical…Guy A thinks Guy B is up to no good so follows him. Guy B, who is just toting Skittles, realizes he is being followed and becomes concerned.
Guy B confronts Guy A,fight ensues…shots fired. I am not clear on who confronted who, but as I understand it, Trayvon confronted Zimmerman, and I have no problem with him doing so. But if Trayvon felt threatened by Zimmerman, under the notion that one should avoid confrontation, he should have kept heading home rather than stop to fight.