I saw the report last night. When I first saw his picture, I erroneously thought this Zimmerman guy was also black.
But, as far as “volunteer neighborhood watch” people, based on my first hand experience, I am wary of this guy’s side of the story. First you have the HOA Overlord wannabes, then you have the these guys, the generals. Everyone is vying for some kind of authority that they lack in their professional careers or in their own homes and they get a chub when they are deputized to exert their brand of justice to an entire neighborhood.
I was out walking the dog about 10pm one evening when a car came around the bend and suddenly, this strobe light lit up the car. The car slowed to a crawl as he got closer to me and I could see the driver trying to crane his neck and check all his mirrors trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Then the car continued on past me.
As my dog and I approached the area of the strobe light, I saw this guy standing on the apron of his driveway with some kind of speed gun-activated camera with a strobe light. Out of curiosity, I said ‘good evening’ and asked what was up. He started telling me about how they have been having problems with speeders on their little stretch of the road and they unsuccessfully lobbied the police to set up radar and write tickets, etc. So he and a few neighbors got together and decided they could do something on their own.
Just then, another car came down the road and he raised his camera as it past and the strobe went off. (the car was literally doing 27 mph in a 25 zone - I peeked at his lense) The car slowed down in an effort to figure out the light show that they just passed through and then pulled into a driveway a block away to turn around. As the car started coming back up the street, he nodded to me and said, “If anything goes down, just duck behind that car over there, don’t worry about me, I’m packin’” as he pulled back his jacket to reveal a holstered Beretta.
The car pulled up and the window lowered. The driver, a young Asian guy, a little irritated, asked if there was a problem. Deputy Dawg told him that he was caught violating the speed limit and his photo will be passed along to the police department where they will issue warning citations to the vehicle owners. He was rehearsed and it sounded good, but it was all a crock. So, I decide it was in my best interest to continue on with our walk. Nothing good was going to come out of this situation.
The following night, I pulled into the neighborhood and proceeded down the road, I even slowed as I approached this guy’s drive way looking to see if he was out there again. I didn’t see anything until I passed by and my rear view mirror lit up with that strobe light. Freakin’ clown is going to get somebody killed one day...
Beware of volunteer, self-annointed safety czars.
You speak the truth.