Posted on 03/22/2012 9:03:25 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Ever since his CPAC Keynote Address in 2010, Rep. Allen West (R-FL) has been one of the gold standards of modern American political conservatism. He has also been widely hailed as a political model for conservative African American politicians. And now, following recent revelations surrounding the highly suspicious shooting of Trayvon Martin, Rep. West has joined a growing bipartisan consensus calling for the case to be reopened, possibly even with Federal assistance. West’s statement, put out today by Talking Points Memo, resonates with controlled fury (emphasis added):
itself in Sanford, Florida involving the shooting of 17-year-old Treyvon Martin. First of all, if all that has been reported is accurate, the Sanford Police Chief should be relieved of his duties due to what appears to be a mishandling of this shooting in its early stages. The US Navy SEALS identified Osama Bin Laden within hours, while this young man laid on a morgue slab for three days. The shooter, Mr Zimmerman, should have been held in custody and certainly should not be walking free, still having a concealed weapons carry permit. From my reading, it seems this young man was pursued and there was no probable cause to engage him, certainly not pursue and shoot him….against the direction of the 911 responder. Let’s all be appalled at this instance not because of race, but because a young American man has lost his life, seemingly, for no reason. I have signed a letter supporting a DOJ investigation. I am not heading to Sanford to shout and scream, because we need the responsible entities and agencies to handle this situation from this point without media bias or undue political influences. This is an outrage.
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
Bingo. Race = federal jurisdiction. I call BS on anyone calling on Holder to be involved in this local matter.
SoldierDad where is the additional evidence going to come from? There is none. So the kind of investigation you are seeking will be nothing but political circus (to further the agenda of crooks and race-baiters)
It will not bring the dead boy back, nor likely to put the man that shot him in jail. Elongating this situation tho is sure to cause trouble as I see it is here on this thread.
Best that it be laid to rest.
I’ve read, seen, nor heard any information (read, facts) which definitively identifies what initiated the confrontation, and who the initial aggressor was. Is there any reason why it is inappropriate to ask questions? Are you suggesting that there is no way there could be a poor job of investigating done by police in this case? So, FR has gone from thread after thread after thread of bashing Law Enforcement and the actions of police to unquestionably accepting the story police are telling in this case! Why is that???
I read the report. I’ve also seen the media coverage, the social media firestorm.
The statement that Congressman West issued appears to me to be carefully crafted to curry favor without making a firm stand. “If all that is reported is accurate...” is an interesting statement from a man who has been put through the liberal media wringer.
“It seems...seemingly, with no reason”.
A careful reading of Congressman West’s statement shows that he’s saying that if Martin was shot for no reason, it’s an outrage. I think anybody would agree with that. He neglects to say that if Martin assaulted Zimmerman before the shooting, it’s a different story. In the same breath he calls for an investigation without undue political influence (like speculative declarations from Congressmen?) and without media bias. He says this, speaking to the media that has hardly been impartial or level headed so far.
That’s the sort of stuff I’d expect from a politician.
Of course, like everybody else posting here, I wasn’t there...but neither was Congressman West.
My own opinion is that Mr. Zimmerman showed poor judgement at best...his life is ruined, even if he was acting in good faith and with pure heart, and I’m at all certain that he was.
A guy may be legally entitled to walk dangerous streets after dark, flashing cash and whistling “I’m In The Money”, and then cry “Self Defense!” after the predictable happens, but that doesn’t make it smart or right.
This is sad all the way around.
So, you’re all for dropping this even if the man who killed this 17 year old did so without justification? Wow!!!! I hope that you never have a similar incident occur in your neighborhood. Personally, were I to have a neighbor who was responsble for killing someone, I’d want a full and complete investigation. And, if the local law enforcement failed in that, I’d want someone from the state to also investigate. Would you feel comfortable with a neighbor who might have gone off half-cocked and killed an innocent person?
Again (sigh) you present NO evidence which supports the justification of using deadly force as used in this incident.
There were witnesses who can corroborate the testimony of Mr. Zimmerman. They were interviewed by the cops. If the witnesses statements had not jibed with Mr. Zimmerman’s I am sure Mr. Zimmerman would be currently detained in jail.
Police make mistakes, but what I am saying is look past all of the lies, distortion, and name calling by the racebaiters and Leftist media and look at what the facts are at this point and compare it to what the electronic lynchmobbers are saying.
All the while the Leftist media quietly suppresses all of the racist attacks on Whites by Blacks. Now why is that?
SoliderDad read all the posts - I have learned more about this incident on this thread than I had on others.
The State is investigating
The police did investigate all the evidence - unless Zimmerman changes his statement there is nothing left to consider. Read his father’s statement as well.
That boy made a poor choice to attack an armed man - sadly he is dead. But its time to move on.
I concur with your comments. I don’t believe Zimmerman was out “hunting”, but made an error in judgement. It may also be the case that the 17 year old also made a bad judgement, but as yet there isn’t any facts which point to just who initiated the physical confrontation. I was a neighborhood watch captain years ago. We started the NW program in our neighborhood because there was a huge problem with drug trafficing on our street. We worked very closely with our Law Enforcement liason and the other residents who were tired of the thefts, and day and night traffic on dead-end street because of those living in the area who were dealing drugs. At no time did anyone participating with the NW attempt any kind of contact with those we were trying to clean out. We kept records, and called police. It took quite a few months, but eventually we had put so much pressure on the miscreants there that those who lived there moved out, leaving no reason for those looking to buy to be there.
Based on the physical evidence and statements, the police concluded initially that it was a case of self-defense. Zimmerman claims he was the one who was attacked. He was returning home from an errand when he noticed this guy acting strangely. He reported it to the police and waited for them to arrive.
We do know that Zimmerman had a bloody nose and and blood on the back of the head and that his back was covered in grass stains. We don't know what injuries other than one bullet wound were suffered by Martin. The fact that there was a physical scuffle indicates to me at least that Zimmerman did not shoot Martin immediately, but only after he was engaged in a fight with him. And Martin's father has confirmed that it was not his son who was calling for help during the struggle, it was Zimmerman.
You seem to doubt Zimmerman's story. Why? Shouldn't he be presumed innocent until proven guilty? We now have Al Sharpton and his minnions making this into a cause celebre for political reasons. It is being used by the Dems and Obama to rally and energize their base in the runup to the election. It has been done before.
Zimmerman is now getting a thorough vetting by the press, but very little is being said about Martin and whether he has had some prior run ins with the law or school authorities. Zimmerman has already been convicted by the MSM and the Left similar to what happened to William Jewel.
I’ve read enough to know that there is nowhere near enough facts to make a determination of who was responsible. And, there is sufficient reason to have an independent investigation. There are investigative techniques that can be utilized to look for a better understanding of what took place. Not investigating because the shooter has claimed self-defense is a horrible reason to drop this matter.
Thanks.
I will put it in a nutshell. But if you don't believe my interpretation, I recommend you actually LISTEN to the words spoken rather than selectively hear what you want to believe.
Mr. Zimmerman places the call to the SFD telling them of recent criminal activity in the neighborhood and that he sees a suspicious character there. The police officer asks for his location and a description of the suspected character (asks if he's white, black, etc.) Zimmerman describes Martin saying something's not right about him, that he has his hand in his waistband and Martin is looking at him.
Zimmerman is giving directions to his location and gives the officer his phone number when asked. In the middle of giving directions Zimmerman comments that the suspect is now running. The officer asks where he is running to and it's obvious Zimmerman is out of breath so the officer asks if he is pursuing suspect. Zimmerman says yes and officer says "we don't need you to do that" and Zimmerman says OKAY. It is then apparent that Zimmerman has stopped pursuing because his voice becomes more in control.
The officer states they are dispatching to the location and asks if Zimmerman wants to meet the police there. The officer asks where he wants to meet them and there's discussion about where to meet. The officer asks Zimmerman for his address and after starting to give the address, Zimmerman hesitates because he doesn't know where the suspect is so he asks to have the police call him when they get there.
So first of all, unless you think he was lying to the police when he said he didn't know where Martin was, how is it possible that he was pursuing him? He was waiting for the police to come and planned on meeting them, and had already agreed not to pursue Martin (again unless you think he was lying to the police).
I don't have any clue where you got the notion that Zimmerman was actively chasing after Martin and/or confronting him, but the recorded tapes totally debunk that scenario.
Remember that Zimmerman had already had contact with the police, so while the officers on the scene might have been unaware at first of Zimmerman's original call, you can be certain they subsequently connected the incidents, which is why Zimmerman's version was more believable and he was not charged.
The arresting officer also made this statement in his report: "Zimmerman was placed in the rear of my police vehicle and was given first aid by the SFD. While the SFD was attending to Zimmerman, I over heard him state 'I was yelling for someone to help me, but no one would help me.' At no point did I question Zimmerman about the incident that had taken place."
Again, unless you assume that Zimmerman knew that several witnesses would claim they heard someone screaming for help and therefore lied about yelling for help, I don't think it's a stretch to deduce that it was indeed Mr. Zimmerman who was being attacked, and with the other recorded evidence with the SFD, that he did not pursue or provoke Martin.
I'm not sure if you have an agenda or if you're just prone to emotion-driven propaganda. I can tell you that I was totally out of the loop at the start of this fiasco, so I come into it unaffected by the original conventional wisdom, and feel I can read and listen to all the FACTUAL evidence without prejudice. At this point, I tend to find Zimmerman's story makes the most sense.
Unless there was an eye-witness who can say otherwise to Zimmerman’s statement he was jumped from behind - no one will ever prove who threw the first punch.
But if it goes to trial sleazy lawyers know all the tricks in the book to sway a jury - is that what some of you prefer, along with a media feeding frenzy shouting RACISM in an election year?
Im done time for bed.
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