George Zimmerman, the still uncharged man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida exactly one month ago, has approved his attorney and a friend, a black friend, to speak on his behalf. In addition the Sanford police department has spoken to the Orlando Sentinel regarding the case in order to leave little doubt that Zimmerman acted in self-defense.
Both Zimmerman’s friend and attorney say that his actions were in self-defense, and also negate claims that Zimmerman uttered the racial epithet “coons” in favor of saying that what he uttered was really “goons” under the guise that it is a term often used in high school settings, which seems more than a bit odd that a 28 year-old man would be so aware of current terminology most prevalent in high school. And seriously, really? Goons? Needless to say many don’t believe that is what’s being said on the 911 tape.
In addition to glowing testimony of how unlikely it was that Zimmerman would have committed a hate crime (He has one black friend, you see), and how much remorse he was reported to have been in following the shooting (crying for days, so says his friend) the two also maintain that the incident isn’t a race issue and that it was a simple issue of life or death, and that Mr. Zimmerman was at risk that night, after having stalked and confronted Trayvon which they don’t really address, and the attorney claims that there is more to the story. He even argues the semantics of the dispatcher’s response to Zimmerman whose comments that he “does not need to follow” Trayvon the night of the killing can clearly be heard, and the meaning easily understood.
Reports from police have also started to trickle out today. After a month of silence the police department says that Zimmerman in a written statement says that he lost sight of Martin when he attempted to continue following him, and then out of nowhere Martin appeared, asked him If he had a problem, and when he said “no,” said “You do now” and then knocked him down with a punch to the nose, repeatedly slammed his head on the ground, and tried to take his gun, and in the scuffle the gun went off. Zimmerman’s friend says that it’s not clear if Zimmerman actually pulled the trigger.
This story, which sounds like the table read from an action movie, fits the now growing rhetoric painting Trayvon as not the seventeen year old young man armed only with candy and a beverage, but of that of a hulking adult who’s larger than his reported weight of 140 pounds, who also has a chip on his shoulder, and someone who is more akin to a gangster than a simple teenager. To those looking to scapegoat Martin many are pointing to the Sentinel’s report on the reason why Martin was suspended from school during the week of his murder. He was suspended for carrying an empty baggie that was allegedly filled with marijuana. In the comments section on the Sentinel website this information is fueling negative sentiments about the teen, but there is not as much discussion about or interest in Zimmerman’s arrest for assaulting a police officer.
Yes, Martin may have been caught with weed and that led to a suspension, however Zimmerman has a police record and a history of violence. Yet, some would have the suspension weigh more. And what about this altercation wherein Zimmerman says that he was not the aggressor, and that he was the one attacked? There are claims that he was seen on top of Martin who was found dead face down in the grass when police arrived, as well as reports that neighbors heard screams and that they were coming from the larger Zimmerman who claims to have been pinned to the ground by the smaller, even if taller, Martin. It is unclear as to who was screaming, however what is known is that Zimmerman had the weapon, and Martin was unarmed.
Martin was the one followed by an unknown male, not in uniform, not in a police cruiser, who stalked him out in the open. We know from reports from Martin’s girlfriend that he felt threatened, and by Zimmerman’s own account that Trayvon attempted to run away from him and he gave chase. Regardless of any other information that has come out today that attempts to mar the character of the young man, including the false reporting of the existence of a photograph taken of Trayvon Martin on Facebook who shows his middle fingers to the camera, who is actually not the Trayvon Martin in this case, the facts remain that Zimmerman sought out, followed, and interacted with Martin and now the child in the case is dead. Even if Martin chose not to be this man’s victim, and fought back against the stalking and a possible seizure by someone who was not a law enforcement officer, the end result remains the same, and he was killed for no cause. Perhaps though, the circumstances changes slightly in that he was killed for standing his own ground. Zimmerman is still responsible for this death.
Sadly, there is still an unsettling amount of conjecture and bias and filtered information coming forth from various sources including the police. Without Trayvon’s ability to combat some of the growing commentary, and Zimmerman’s claims which are flimsy, largely uncorroborated, and should have still warranted an arrest until an investigation could be completed, it will indeed depend on the findings of the grand jury hearing set for April 10th and the Justice Department.
