Posted on 03/25/2012 1:04:38 PM PDT by Steelfish
Black Friend Defends Shooter of Florida Teen
March 25, 2012
SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman cried for days in remorse after shooting dead a black Florida teenager, a family friend of Zimmerman said on Sunday, offering a sympathetic portrayal of the man at the focal point of a national uproar.
Zimmerman, 28, a white Hispanic, shot Trayvon Martin, 17, in what he said was self defense during an altercation in the gated community Zimmerman was watching on February 26 in Sanford, Florida. After barely going noticed for weeks, the case has since galvanized the country and renewed a national discussion about race.
"He couldn't stop crying. He's a caring human being," Joe Oliver, 53, a former television news reporter and anchor in Orlando who has known Zimmerman for several years, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
"I mean, he took a man's life and he has no idea what to do about it. He's extremely remorseful about it," Oliver said, relating stories told to him by Zimmerman's mother-in-law, a close friend of Oliver's wife.
Oliver's account counters the withering criticism Zimmerman has sustained from demonstrators across the country who have demanded his arrest and accused him of racial bias in targeting Martin. Celebrities have taken up the cause of justice for Trayvon, and President Barack Obama said "all of us have to do some soul-searching" as a result of the tragedy.
"I'm a black male and all that I know is that George has never given me any reason whatsoever to believe he has anything against people of color," Oliver said.
Sanford police did not arrest Zimmerman, saying the evidence could not disprove his account of self-defense, though the case is under review by a state special prosecutor and the U.S. Justice Department.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
And then what do you do when the perp's accomplice pops up?
Empty guns are poor clubs.
“Hispanic” is derived from the Island Hispaniola, or the Dominican republic.
Actually the word Hispanic comes from the word España (Spain). It did not originate from the Island of Hispaniola.
I call the woman on top.
Um, I mean the left.
I agree. La Presidenta probably has three decades on her.
I think I might get into soccer...or at least pretend to.
“…it comes from Hispania, the Latin term for what is now Spain.”
You are correct. I just didn’t want to get too deep into the terminology of “Hispanic.”
“...We don’t kill completely unarmed people...”
Sure we do.
If a 6-foot person is sitting on your chest, beating in your face with his fists and you have a gun in your holster, are you going to let him kill you OR are you going to save you life?
The police made a determination based on evidence at the scene, on 911 calls and eye-witness accounts.
I suspect this whole tragedy could have been avoided if Mr.Martin had used common sense, stopped, and chatted with Mr.Zimmerman. Mr.Zimmerman has, as a member of community watch, a history of informing the Sanford police of questionable or suspicious activity in that gated community. He does not, as far as I can ascertain, have a history of violent confrontations, something community watch folks are warned against doing.
If you go to the City of Sanford’s online site, the telephone calls are all there as well as a report from the City Manager, Norton Bonaparte
http://www.sanfordfl.gov/index.html
http://www.sanfordfl.gov/investigation/docs/Zimmerman_Martin_shooting.pdf
Note: I’ve known for a year that the BHO2 administration was going to stir up a race war this coming summer. Anything that can be used to divert attention away from Obama’s atrocious record will be used. We are now getting a taste of it. If George Zimmerman is seized by a black mob and lynched, the result will not be good for BHO2 or this nation.
I said as much to my buddy from Miami and now he does not want to talk to me. I told him I'm to old to lose fights if I am carrying (I usually don't unless its bandit country) One lucky blow can main or disable your ass.
That is one very brave black friend.
Shall we assume another person at the New York Times is going to be out of work on Monday? Who’s braver? The black kid who supported his friend against the mob? Or a reporter who would sneak this piece into the Times? Close. Very close.
Nope, it comes from the Isle of Hispaniola, sorry but you are wrong.
My family/Surname comes from of a rich family of Spaniards, they are not "Hispanics", sorry.
My family has roots in Spain, they were considered a Noble and rich Family, the PC etymology is is incorrect.
My third Uncle was Carlos Montoya, he was not "Hispanic"
Bookmark for later, when city’s website isn’t so busy.
You hit the nail on the head my friend. Most of my gun owning buddies said they would use this a s a push to put further bans on owning weapons.
I’m glad I got my CCW last year.
I have java script off AFAIK (am techtard) and I get a page with nothing on it...? any ideas?
The guitarist?
Sorry, my friend. Hispanus and hispanicus were in use before there were Spaniards, let alone before they conquered anyone. Both terms designated those who came from Hispania, which as I said, is primarily modern day Spain. Hispania referred to the entire Iberian Peninsula, but Spain was conquered by Rome, and it’s denizens thus carried the name prior.
He's a brave man and a good friend.
Yes....I was just sitting here trying to figure out the lineage but family tress always confuse the heck out of me.
If I have this right, he was my Great Grand Fathers, sisters son....oy, somehing like that anyway.
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