I have had many cases not prosecuted during my career, usually because the evidence was not so overwhelmingly strong that the government could plea it out rather than have to go to trial.
They were solid cases, but the government felt they weren't "slam dunks", so they got no-papered (not charged).
Alternatively, I have had cases where the law was technically broken, but I felt it did not rise to the level of criminal prosecution. In some such cases, I was required by law to make an initial arrest, but when I presented the case to the prosecutor I would actually request that it be no-papered (not charged). The prosecutor would generally honor such a request.
I bring this distinction up because the mere fact that a detective presented an affidavit or charging document to the prosecutor does not necessarily mean that he "wanted Zimmerman charged". He may be required to present his facts to the prosecutor in such a fashion (and likely is required to do so in such a serious matter as a death investigation).
I therefore wonder if ABC News simply spun a report that the investigator delivered his documents to the prosecutor for review into "he sought charges" and "didn't believe the story".
You obviously have a lot more experience with these issues than I do. My only point was that prosecutors make the ultimate decision because they are trained in the law. I wasn’t trying to denigrate law enforcement. Hope it didn’t come off that way.
That's an interesting point. I know Gutman of ABC has been awfully slanted in his presentations - to the extent that a careful reading results in false impressions.
It makes good sense for the DA to be presented with a "this is the best case we can make" paper.
Serino isn't talking. ;-)
Or that the ABC reporter just didn't understand the meaning of the documents, and did not bother to ask about it.
George Zimmerman's crumbling story, part 3: the detective - PostPartisan - The Washington Post - Jonathan Capehart - March 29, 2012
Wolfinger told Serino that he didn't think there was enough evidence to charge Zimmerman. According to ABC News, Serino then filed an affidavit the night of Feb. 26 stating he didn't believe Zimmerman. And we are now finding out that Serino then set out to bring the neighborhood watch volunteer to justice.In an interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton and later with Lawrence O'Donnell, Cheryl Brown, the mother of a 13-year-old eyewitness said that Serino told her that he didn't believe Zimmerman's self-defense claim.
[Serino] told me that he and the other officer with him felt that it was not self-defense and that they needed to prove it wasn't self-defense. And he said that I needed to read between the line because there was some stereotyping going on.... I took it to mean that he felt that George Zimmerman committed this crime based on whether it's stereotyping or racial profiling or whatever you want to call it. But those were his words. Stereotyping.Serino was the one who recounted Zimmerman's version of events for Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father. Martin told us in a meeting yesterday at The Post that he asked Serino if a background check was done on Zimmerman. Yes, one was, he was told, and he was "squeaky clean." But Martin had another question. "By Zimmerman being 'squeaky clean,' " he wanted to know, "did that give him the right to shoot and kill my son?" What Martin said Serino said next fits an emerging pattern. "[H]e said it certainly didn't. That he was going to do everything that he could do to catch this guy in a lie."Despite being overruled by superiors, Serino, it appears, never gave up on trying to have Zimmerman arrested. He filed that affidavit hours before delivering the tragic news to Martin and said what he would try to do. And it wasn't until March 5 that he would pay the 13-year-old and his mother a visit.
A police detective told the father of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin that his son initiated two confrontations with the neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot him.Tracy Martin, describing the police version of events in a meeting Wednesday with Washington Post reporters and editors, said he did not believe the official account, which was conveyed to him two days after his 17-year-old son was killed Feb. 26. The detective's explanation, as relayed by Martin, largely coincides with recent news reports that George Zimmerman told investigators that he shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense.
It goes on to describe a first encounter (again, this is Tracy's recollection or interpretation of what Serino said) where Trayvon comes to Zimmerman's car, and they exchange words there. But Zimmerman's call to dispatch doesn't contain any verbal exchange.
I would think, if there was a first exchange, that would have been the end of it, clearing things up in Zimmerman's mind. So, if Serino believes there had been a first exchange, I can see why he'd be suspicious of Zimmerman. I wonder if Serino, at the time he formed his opinion, had listened to Zimmerman's dialog with dispatch.