Zimmerman had been told by the police dispatcher not to follow Martin any more but to let the police take over (they were on their way).
Some of the people who get involved in neighborhood watch programs are what the police call “buffs” - that is, they’re wanna-be cops who were unable to get onto the force because they couldn’t pass the physical or the psychological or some other test. For them, it’s like playing cop.
I don’t know what happened at the end, but if Zimmerman had done what he was told to do by the police - that is, stopped following Martin - none of this would have happened. His only job was to report it to the police and let them take it from there.
I don’t know what happened at the end, but if Zimmerman had done what he was told to do by the police - that is, stopped following Martin - none of this would have happened. His only job was to report it to the police and let them take it from there.”
I don’t know exactly what happened either, and it’s very hard to make sense of reading the Zimmerman/Martin threads. So much emotion and speculation.
livius, the exact thing said to Zimmerman was “you don’t need to follow him.”
It may be nit picking but that is a very different statement from “do not follow him.”