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To: throwback
The 911 operator told him to stop following him. It sounds like he didn’t listen. I imagine if somebody started following me through a neighborhood, I would go over and talk to them too.

I'm going to offer you a suggestion. Whether you take it or not is up to you.

You have a pre-conceived notion of what happened, and are twisting the narrative to fit it. None of the facts (as they are coming out) support your pre-conceived notion.

Did Zimmerman act wisely? I wasn't there, and I don't know his experiences. I do know that the Neighborhood Watch program was an attempt to reduce the spike in property crimes that have recently occurred in the development. But, there's no indication that Zimmerman did not violate ANY law.

Zimmerman -- by his account, by the recordings, and by witnesses -- did not initiate the use of force. Martin did, and it wasn't justifiable under the law. Unless more evidence becomes public that contradicts that, Zimmerman acted in self-defense.

All Martin had to do was tell Zimmerman that he was a guest of his father's girlfriend, and there would have been no escalation to violence. Zimmerman may not have believed him, but that would have been an easy question to solve -- by either walking together to her residence, or calling her.

Barring new and contradictory evidence, the outcome was Martin's responsibility.

168 posted on 03/26/2012 5:00:10 PM PDT by justlurking (The only remedy for a bad guy with a gun is a good WOMAN (Sgt. Kimberly Munley) with a gun)
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To: justlurking
“All Martin had to do was tell Zimmerman that he was a guest of his father's girlfriend, and there would have been no escalation to violence. Zimmerman may not have believed him, but that would have been an easy question to solve — by either walking together to her residence, or calling her.’

That brings up a point that I have wondered about. Where is this girlfriend? I would think that she would be being paraded around, giving statements like “Martin was staying at my place” “I invited him to stay and he is so nice” etc. It would lend quite a bit of credence to Martins’side. Her absence is puzzling.

173 posted on 03/26/2012 5:32:14 PM PDT by Polynikes (Hakkaa Palle)
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To: justlurking
Both parties were on their cell phones: Zimmerman to the police, and Martin to his girlfriend.

Zimmerman's call had ended before the confrontation.

The recording of Zimmerman indicates that he was actually confronted by Martin, not the other way around.

I haven't encountered this claim before - do you have a link? (It has been reported that Zimmerman's statement after the shooting stated that he was attacked on the way back to his vehicle.)

Martin's girlfriend provided an interview to ABC News. Her account also indicates that Martin confronted Zimmerman.

True.

"Following" someone is not a crime. The 911 operator dispatcher had no authority to order Zimmerman to stop doing so. That requires a LEO on the scene.

"Being followed" is not a justification for the use of force in self-defense. That requires an explicit threat or an incontrovertible fear of bodily harm.

This is open to interpretation in the state of Florida. The stand your ground law only requires that you "feel threatened", not that there is necessarily an explicit threat. It could be argued that a kid raised in the "stranger danger" era might feel threatened by someone following him.

By your own account, you would have gone over to talk to someone that is following you. I would do the same. But, the evidence indicates that Martin subsequently escalated to the use of force (and at least in Texas, deadly force by striking Zimmerman in the head).

Zimmerman's statement indicates this. Martin's girlfriend's statement seems to contradict that. (If she is telling the truth about being on the phone when the fight started, I do find it odd that Martin would attempt to take a swing at someone while also trying to talk on the phone.) So far, I haven't been able to find any independent witness statements that indicate that they saw the beginning of the confrontation, only the middle/end.

174 posted on 03/26/2012 5:44:03 PM PDT by Reese Hamm
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