Maybe he was walking back to his truck, and it wasn’t a back yard, it was an apartment walkway. Watch the local news report.
Furthermore, if Trayvon ran away from Zimmerman, why did he come back?
Could it not be argued at that point that it was Martin who was pursuing Zimmerman?
I think so.
None of us has enough to make a solid conclusion here, that’s for sure.
From what little we do have, I’m thinking it went this way:
Zimmerman phoned from his vehicle; then left his vehicle to follow Martin where a vehicle could not go (the walkway behind the homes); he proceeded some distance on foot behind the homes, but had lost sight of Martin and decided to return to his truck; and before he got to it, he encountered Martin.
Now, there are plenty of scenarios within that set, which could have happened. But if it happened that way, here is how it may have looked to the 17-year-old:
A strange man in a vehicle has been staring at him and seems to be following him, so he runs, goes into an alley or walkway. Then the man appears nearby, on foot, first walking that way — then walking this way!
One assumption not in evidence: let’s say at that point the boy has hidden and Zimmerman unwittingly walks past him. Then Zimmerman concludes he’s lost the kid and should return to his vehicle. But the boy doesn’t know, until Zimmerman turns around and heads back, that Zimmerman wasn’t going home, having parked his vehicle. Once Zimmerman turns around to go back to the road — or even just in the direction where Martin is — the kid decides it’s clear this man is looking for him. Purposeful walking in one direction has been eliminated from the possibilities in the boy’s mind; that man is following him, not going about his own business or heading to his own home.
That is admittedly speculation, but it fits the meager facts of Zimmerman on foot in the back walkway, returning to vehicle. Martin, age 17, may have been unduly alarmed and was certainly not using the best judgment to have opted not to call 911. We do not know if Martin ambushed Zimmerman or confronted him (the girlfriend says he asked “Why are you following me?”)
Still, both of them used poor judgment, Zimmerman in following rather than merely reporting to police. Martin’s bad judgment depends on whether he was a thug or an innocent pedestrian minding his own business.
Justice demands a thorough investigation, and even then we may never know for sure.
That said, Rick Santorum had absolutely no right to depict Zimmerman as a man with a perverted mind or a malicious motive. I have not seen anyone here on FR go that far, and it’s gotten awfully heated here at times. Why Santorum even thinks it, much less says it, is baffling — just on terms of reasonable and fair, it is strange. Then for a presidential contender, a public figure, to say it gratuitously — incomprehensible.
Reasonable people can differ, can speculate, given the meager facts, but a public figure in a presidential race ought to refrain. Instead, Santorum (a lawyer) just tossed presumption of innocence out the window in the most incendiary terms.
Furthermore, if Trayvon ran away from Zimmerman, why did he come back?
Maybe he didn't "come back." Maybe he just hid, watched Zimmerman pass by and watched him doubling back, and then confronted/attacked/engaged him.
Could it not be argued at that point that it was Martin who was pursuing Zimmerman?
Sure could. However, Zimmerman never said the kid was "pursuing" him, and Zimmerman is alive to speak. We can probably eliminate "pursuit" but not "ambush" or "jump." However, even if Martin did initiate the physical violence, Zimmerman is likely to be convicted of some charge or other. He initiated the chain of events leading to the encounter; his actions may have been construed by Martin as menacing; and he was the adult in the situation and in at least petty authority as watchman, so he'll be held to a higher standard.
And then comes the civil suit.