Thanks. I spent too many years in military law enforcement and then as a P.I. doing criminal/civil defense work to take my, or anyones first impressions, to be valid. The facts are always evolving in any investigation. Witnesses statements, which it appears were many in this case, physical evidence, 911 tapes and the “person of interest” statement, (he was, from the reporting I have read, not being accused of a crime at the time of the interview/interrogation), all need to be confirmed and evaluated.
The 911 tape, (I have not heard it myself, just going on a recap of it by a reputable news org. and police dept. statements), that Zimmerman said he was walking back to his SUV prior to the incident needs to be verified with time lines to determine if Martin came up to Zimmerman after Zimmerman apparently “broke off his surveillance”. But that determination has not been made public yet, so we can’t speculate on it either.
The Grand Jury needs to be allowed to do their job. However, I am concerned by the reports that the DOJ is looking to try to make this a hate crime if the Florida officials and the Grand Jury determine that there is not a crime to prosecute. That would be a political “pimping” of the situation, IMHO.
The recording is its own timeline, in that regard. Zimmerman stayed on the line for a minute or two after losing sight of Trayvon, and saying that he was going back to his vehicle. There is no sound or report of physical altercation on that tape, so the physical altercation happened after Zimmerman reported to the police that he was returning to his vehicle.
I agree. This concerns me very much as well. It’s as if it has been predetermined to be a “hate crime” whatever that is, without any facts in evidence to support it. If anything, perhaps Zimmerman acted rashly but there is no evidence to support that his actions were racially motivated.