Family: Man didn't kill black teen in self-defense

AP ^ | 03/17/2012 | By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

[redreno]

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) -- Calls made to police show that a black teenager was terrified as he tried to get away from the white neighborhood watch volunteer who shot him, and that the volunteer was not defending himself as he has claimed, the teen's family told The Associated Press on Saturday.

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“..he has no legal obligation to stay in his car, and getting out of the car should have no legal bearing on the case.”

Do you have a CCW? Ever taken a CCW class? A CCW is a privilege. Extra responsibility comes with this privilege. Your legal “strategy” would be analogous to seeing a pedestrian and running them down anyway because you had the right of way. It's not going to fly.

[Tired of Taxes]

Listen, at my age, I see 17 as a “kid”. ;-) That’s the only reason I used the term “kid”. The age and height of the victim makes no difference in this case. Zimmerman is a young man, too, in my book.

[Tired of Taxes]

He also had injuries (bloody nose, scratches & bruises on skin), and damage to his clothes (grass stains, mud) consistent with the story he told.

You referred to the teen's actions as "assault", according to Mr. Zimmerman. What I'm saying is that the injuries could mean that the teen was fighting in self-defense. If it turns out that the teen had intent to attack Zimmerman - which is not logical because, according to Zimmerman himself, the teen was trying to get away from him - a trial might sort it all out. The lack of information is leading people to ask questions.

he has a right to get out of his car and speak to the teen.

Absolutely. You'll get no argument from me there.

Think about the situation a little. Zimmerman has already called the police. He knows they are going to be at the scene in a few minutes. If he was planning to shoot Martin, or even thinking about it,

I have thought about it, and let me be clear: I never said this was premeditated murder. I don't believe this was premeditated at all. It just seems there were a series of misunderstandings that led one man to believe he was chasing a criminal and a teen (although we'll never know what he was thinking) to probably believe he was being pursued by a criminal.

The logical way this went down is that Zimmerman got out of the car and confronted Martin, believing that the police would be there promptly. Essentially he has back-up on the way, and if Martin does have burglary on his mind, he doesn't want Martin to escape ... Martin doesn't like this, words rare exchanged, and it escalates into a scuffle. Martin is younger and stronger and is soon getting the better of the fight. Zimmerman's shirt comes up and his weapon is exposed. They contend for the weapon and Martin is shot.

Maybe. Or maybe Zimmerman thought he could hold Martin there by brandishing the gun. And Martin might've believed Zimmerman was a criminal, so he lunged for the gun. (Zimmerman is young himself - in his mid-20's.)

Or, let's give Zimmerman the benefit of the doubt: Zimmerman's father indicated that Zimmerman was pulled from his vehicle. Let's assume that story is true. We know that Martin was running away. We know that Zimmerman was pursuing him. In Zimmerman's mind, he probably thought he was following a potential criminal. In Martin's mind, he might've been thinking he was running from a criminal.

What I don't understand is: If you're willing to believe that Zimmerman was acting in self-defense, why not be willing to believe that Martin might have been?