Posted on 03/22/2012 8:17:42 PM PDT by marktwain
Fellow Citizens:
There has been a lot of media attention to the recent incident where George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. This is indeed a tragic situation and has caused a flood of questions and strong emotions from within our community, the region and nation. On behalf of the employees of the City of Sanford, Our deepest sympathy and prayers go out to the family and friends of Trayvon Martin. As a father, I can only image the pain Trayvon’s family must be going though. In an effort to continue to be as responsive as possible to the public seeking information on the incident, I have asked Chief Lee to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding this matter. Below are his responses. Please understand that since this is still an ongoing investigation, the Police Department is limited in what information it can publicly release.
The City of Sanford is committed to insuring that justice is served and, therefore, the City of Sanford has contacted the United States Attorney General’s Office for assistance in this matter.
The men and women of the Sanford Police Department extend our heartfelt sympathies to the Martin family. This is indeed a tragic situation. The death of anyone due to violence, especially a 17 year old young man, is morally appalling. As this incident has generated a lot of media attention, we wanted to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
Why was George Zimmerman not arrested the night of the shooting?
When the Sanford Police Department arrived at the scene of the incident, Mr. Zimmerman provided a statement claiming he acted in self defense which at the time was supported by physical evidence and testimony. By Florida Statute, law enforcement was PROHIBITED from making an arrest based on the facts and circumstances they had at the time. Additionally, when any police officer makes an arrest for any reason, the officer MUST swear and affirm that he/she is making the arrest in good faith and with probable cause. If the arrest is done maliciously and in bad faith, the officer and the City may be held liable.
According to Florida Statute 776.032 : 776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of force.—
(1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force, unless the person against whom force was used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, the term “criminal prosecution” includes arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the defendant.
(2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the use of force as described in subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for using force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force that was used was unlawful.
Why weren’t the 911 tapes initially released?
There are exemptions to the public records laws for active criminal intelligence and for ongoing investigations. In this instance, the 911 calls made by neighbors in the subdivision, and the non- emergency call made by Mr. Zimmerman are all key to the investigation by Sanford Police Department. In consultation with the Office of the State Attorney, the Sanford police department had decided not to release the audio recordings of the 911 calls due to the ongoing investigation. Many times, specific information is contained in those recordings which is vital to the integrity of the investigation. At the time, it was determined that if revealed, the information may compromise the integrity of the investigation prior to its completion. The 911 tapes have since been released.
Why did Mr. Zimmerman have a firearm in his possession while acting in the role of a neighborhood watch member?
Mr. Zimmerman holds a concealed weapon permit issued from the State of Florida. He is authorized to carry the weapon in a concealed manner wherever Florida Statute dictates. Neighborhood Watch programs are designed for members of a neighborhood to be “eyes and ears” for police and to watch out for their neighbors. They are not members of the Police Department nor are they vigilantes. Training provided by law enforcement agencies to Neighborhood Watch organizations stresses non-contact surveillance of suspicious situations and notifying police of those situations so that law enforcement can respond and take control of the situation.
Mr. Zimmerman was not acting outside the legal boundaries of Florida Statute by carrying his weapon when this incident occurred. He was in fact on a personal errand in his vehicle when he observed Mr. Martin in the community and called the Sanford Police Department.
If Zimmerman was told not to continue to follow Trayvon, can that be considered in this investigation?
Yes it will; however, the telecommunications call taker asked Zimmerman “are you following him”. Zimmerman replied, “yes”. The call taker stated “you don’t need to do that”. The call taker’s suggestion is not a lawful order that Mr. Zimmerman would be required to follow. Zimmerman’s statement was that he had lost sight of Trayvon and was returning to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by Trayvon.
Why was George Zimmerman labeled as “squeaky clean” when in fact he has a prior arrest history?
In one of the initial meetings with the father of the victim the investigator related to him the account that Mr. Zimmerman provided of the incident. At that time the investigator said that Mr. Zimmerman portrayed himself to be “squeaky clean”. We are aware of the background information regarding both individuals involved in this event. We believe Mr. Martin may have misconstrued this information. What about media reenactments of the shooting incident? Any media reenactments of the shooting incident are purely speculation. To date the Sanford Police Department has not released any rendition of the events of the evening to anyone other than the Office of the State Attorney. The renditions we have seen are not consistent with the evidence in this case.
The Sanford Police Department has conducted a complete and fair investigation of this incident. We have provided the results of our investigation to the Office of the State Attorney for their review and consideration for possible criminal prosecution.
Although the Police Department is the target of the troubling questions, let me assure you we too feel the pain of this senseless tragedy that has dramatically affected our community. Therefore, as we move forward and strive to answer the questions that are a point of controversy in the community, we ask for your patience, understanding and assistance in getting the correct information to the community.
Thank you,
Norton N. Bonaparte, Jr., ICMA-CM City Manager March 19, 2012
Apparently, you don't believe it. Why?
I'm betting Mr. Zimmerman has at lest 25 lawyers trying to call him as we speak, just on the above statement, which seems to throw the weight of the town's officialdom on the side of Mr. Zimmerman's supposed guilt. Last time I checked, a trial is needed to judge guilt or innocence.
Not even Zimmerman himself denies that he pulled the trigger, that the bullet hit Martin, and that Martin is now dead i.e., Zimmerman shot and killed Martin.
If the official's statement read "murdered Martin" that would be different. It is perfectly accurate as it currently reads.
“was returning to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by Trayvon.”
There’s a source for this in a 911 call?
The police report validates that claim. The police report states that Mr. Martin was lying face down, with his hands underneath is body.
“He had a interesting last name and I thought I would share his portrait from the Standard website with fellow FReepers.”
Isn’t it interesting to note the breakdown in communications between whites and blacks in the past couple of years. Gee, I wonder what could have caused that to happen?
Mr. Bonaparte has it right. It's the other way around.
Thanks for the pic.
It seems to me that Mr. Bonaparte did a pretty good job with this release.
He basically stuck to the facts.
Because Zimmerman is the interested party, d’uh! Electric chair or walk free, do I have to spell it out? Apparently so. Not a word he says is believable.
You are correct and we have no idea how menacing Trayvon looked that dark rainy night and we should trust the opinion of a highly trained neighborhood watch captain like Mr. Zimmerman who undoubtedly knows how to tell the difference between an innocent man and one that is looking for trouble.
Are you mocking me?
Let’s imagine just for argument’s sake, that Zimmerman had a previous encounter with Martin who must have visited the complex before, and that Zimmerman was set on a revenge and murdered the kid in cold blood.
What do you think his statements would have been afterwards? He wouldn’t say that he shot the kid in self-defense? Ignore the above - WHEN would he not say that he did shoot the kid in self defense?
All we know in this case for certain are the 999 recordings and the police report. EVERYTHING ELSE is pure Rashomon, witnesses, killer’s statements (especially!), it’s all speculation and conjecture.
There was at least one eyewitness. You should go suck an egg for helping the race mongering democrats to whip this into a frenzy fit for distraction from the criminal enterprise democrat party in full ‘transform America’ mode.
I know Trayvon was laying face down on his stomach. But if Zimmerman was sitting on top of him, how did he shoot him in the chest? These two bimbos made that part up. They didn’t see anything. They showed up after the shooting.
I am getting out of these threads. A Zimmerman worshipper has just notified JimRob of my presence as a {”troll” and another supporter of gunning down black teenagers has pointed to me as a “race pimp”.
Perhaps, Zimmerman shot him while Martin was on top of him, pushes him off and rolls away. Anything can happen.
It would seem that we agree that it would appear that Zimmmeman acted in self defense and was fullfilling his duty as watch captain.
What did this eyewitness claim that he saw?
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