Hurt you. Is everything ok?". Try earning some trust. It's the gun mentality that makes assholes feel invincible.

If it's the former, I was not there with a flashlight. If it is the latter, probably because he couldn't see. After all, that's what flashlights are for.

Hence, why peace officers in tactical capacities still use flash lights while raiding a dark place.

Maybe Zimmerman was simply too stupid to realize the indiscreetness of his flash light. Maybe he has poor vision that is not optimal for seeing at night. Maybe the flash light was low power and only illuminated the area immediately in front of him. Maybe it was a flash light with a red filter to reduce visibility.

Maybe maybe maybe. Bottom line is that if you are going to try and draw such a drastic conclusion from such an insignificant feature of the affair, then you clearly have other intentions in mind.

They either don't have their ID or they don't want to show it. Then, when they try to drag you in and you resist, they charge you with resisting an officer. Happens all the time.

The facts that we know now aren't relevant to how things were perceived by Zimmerman and Trayvon at that time.

Z was a racist vigilante. Either way, he was scared as hell, and he knew he was in trouble. I've wondered the whole time about what Trayvon thought was happening to him. That picture of his body that was shown today looked like he was trying to figure that out.

"looked like he was trying to figure that out"???? WTF does that even mean? His FUCKING EARBUDS were right next to the poor kid's body because as his friend attested she was TALKING ON THE PHONE WITH HIM. The kid was JUMPED.

I think. That's what I would have been thinking.

That's what I've been saying all along. None of us really knows shit about it. All we can do is make guesses. I don't know why you chose to respond on the first place and make a big scene. There's really nothing to it.

Your comment only makes sense if we were TALKING ABOUT A COP but WE'RE NOT!

This is such bullshit.

Or should I just say "see above"? LOL

didn't show their ID when they handcuffed me and put me in a car and took me to the station. I've known plenty of other people it's happened to. I don't care who you're related to, you don't know jack shit.

unless they are infiltrating peaceful protests to start trouble.

Thanks in advance.

What was decided was that none of us really knows anything about what happened that night, all we can do is make guesses. All the rest of the discussion, if you want to call it that, was just a big misunderstanding. I guess you've heard the not guilty verdict by now, huh? Sucks. Hope your relative gets better.

I rarely do.

This "identify himself" nonsense is just another clumsy way of indirectly asserting, without a scintilla of evidence, that he tracked down and deliberately confronted Martin as some kind of "wannabe cop." That's the only situation when a reasonable person would reflexively identify himself. I don't shout my name and rank when someone comes up on me suddenly, and neither do you.

Of course, if Z was the masterful lord of mendacity that everyone seems to believe, why not just lie about identifying himself? Why lie about everything else, but tell the truth on that one little fact?

If GZ's version of the facts are correct, then the OP proves absolutely nothing. If he's lying about what happened, then the OP is irrelevant.

Remember, he WASN'T a cop and already decided who Trayvon was.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3246953

While it may not be legally required that Zimmerman identifying himself, it would certainly be advised.

he was in pursuit ffs. yes, you fucking identify yourself in that situation.

If, however, someone comes up and surprises you, then no, shouting your identity is not the first thing that comes to mind.

verdict is coming up. this should be fun.

With a loaded gun strapped in my pants. Or never, like most reasonable people.

The police even told this moron in interview after he killed Trayvon that he probably could have avoided all this if he'd just introduced himself.

Also, neighborhood watch isn't an "occupation."

so that would be weird. But if I am a member of a community watch, and I see a teen I may be suspicious of, and I know I am not dressed in a way that would make it clear that I am a watch group, then yes, I would feel some obligation to announce that, particularly if I am armed.

Oh, I get it, you want to ignore the evidence in the case.

The Martin kid said "he's right behind me" and then "why are you following me?"

I guess he said that stuff before or after he jumped out the bushes that weren't there.

But she didn't say "he's right behind me," she said it was "oh shit, he's behind me." And while I would ordinarily accept that as true, the fact that she conveniently changed the next line of dialog in a way that dramatically alters a listener's perception of what was happening makes her description of the conversation questionable.

You don't have a problem with Zimmerman's "tonight's the night you die, muthereffer?"

Really?

You really question HER testimony?

Absolutely astonishing.

of how things should sound, which is what you are doing with Zimmerman's story. I'm questioning it because she materially changed her account. It wasn't a simple rewording or an innocuous inconsistency; she changed the most crucial line from something that might support Zimmerman's story to something that would implicate him.

"Why are you following me?"

"I'm the neighborhood watch and the police are on their way."

See how different that is?

He was living out his favorite fantasy of catching himself a thug. Well, killing a thug was his favorite, favorite fantasy.

since he was the adult, he had a HUGE responsibility to prevent a confrontation and a moral duty to make sure Trayvon, the minor, understood the situation.

I haven't watched the whole trial, but from what I know, I would find Zimmerman guilty at the very least of manslaughter. He went looking for trouble and now he wants to claim he is the victim.

I'm a CCW permit holder, and usually carry when I'm out in public. I consider it my solemn responsibility to do what I can to avoid potential conflict. If I ever have to shoot another human being in self-defense, I need to not only be able to justify my actions to the criminal justice system, but I also have to be able to look at myself in the mirror when I get up in the morning. If I failed in my responsibility to avoid conflict while carrying a deadly weapon, I couldn't do that. That's more important than the legal issues to me, frankly.

Zimmerman didn't do that. Instead, he initiated a conflict that at some point became physical, and ended with a dead human being. I could care less in Martin swung first. If Zimmerman had behaved responsibly, none of this would have happened.

Why are you following me?
You'd have to be an idiot to be scared of somebody asking you that. Especially if you have been following them in your truck and then on foot.
The real question is why is Zimmerman lying? Trayvon the only witness is dead, so George can say whatever he wants. He's a bad fighter and a good prevaricator.

"The killing of a human being is justifiable homicide and lawful if necessarily done while resisting an attempt to murder or commit a felony upon George Zimmerman." -From the jury instructions.

So Did Trayvon assult zimmerman? It depends on who threw the first punch, and I really don't know. It would be a 50/50 guess if you asked me who I thought it was.

Since I don't know, I have reasonable doubt, and I would find zimmerman not guilty.

That is self defense. TRAYVON'S. Or doesn't that count????

Defenseless black child being stalked by a cop-wanna be and you would say not guilty?

Who threw the first punch. Confrontation was initiated by Zimmerman. Martin stood his ground against a would be attacker and was murdered for it. The moment the wanna-be cop ignored 911 and got out of his car to actively pursue this kid he to be considered the aggressor. GUILTY!

So he was attempting to answer a question asked by the dispatcher when he got out of his car.

You can hear zimmerman running, and when the dispatcher says 'you don't need to do that', it sounds like he stops running.

So I don't think he did disregard the dispatchers instructions.

You're leaving out this:

The prosecution never disporved zimmermans story. Even if I can say I only feel 20% certain that zimmerman was getting punhched, there is still reasonable doubt.

Martin was clearly scared and chose to fight his aggressor.

He wasn't worried about great bodily harm - he was armed. He has a history of violence and had no business following Trayvon.

I don't know why people assume any of us, including the jury, has to believe any part of Zimmerman's story. I think it was utter nonsense debunked quite well by the prosecution. He has the right to presumed innocence not presumed honesty. And if the jury doesn't believe him, no way he gets off.

And I personally think the medical experts made a joke out of Zimmerman's claims of fear for his life or great bodily harm. "Minor" and "needed a bandaid" aren't going to convince the jury he had a reasonable concern to the level of shooting a kid in the chest.

I have 2 little boys and they get way worse marks than GZ had running into door jams (huge welt and bruising) or falling and hitting their heads (ER visit for 1/4" gash) on the stove.

It shouldn't be easy to justify taking a life. Right?

Zimmerman was a menace to the Martin kid. INTENTIONALLY!

He could have at any time said who he was and why he was following him.

Martin would have explained that he lived there.

Don't you get it?

The Martin kid was one of the neighbors Zimmerman was supposed to be making safe.

you start a fight. Zimmerman started the whole damn thing by pursuing Trayvon having profiled him as an
"asshole fucking punk up to no good". THAT is what was in his head and heart, so he had no interest in de-escalating with Trayvon.

He had a gun. Therefore he was in the right.

I got nothin.

never were any of us encouraged to or engaged in "patrolling" like Zimmerman was. It's called WATCH for a reason, not neighborhood patrol. We were actually encouraged to report anything we saw in the course of our daily life to the block captain and each other, who would then contact the police.

would never had happened and Trayvon would still be alive.

He's just a fucking punk that didn't get away from the law abiding defender of their freedoms.

Therefore, WHY would Zimmerman be interested in approaching Trayvon in a polite and professional manner?

This reckless cop wannabe wanted to CAPTURE Trayvon whom he had profiled. He wanted to be a big hero.

He was reckless as hell, initiated the whole damn thing, and was not justified in using deadly force. He at least needs a manslaughter conviction.

an at risk teen with a history of fighting and feel Zimmerman is not guilty no matter what

His life is worth more to them, especially more than a "thug" black boy.

..."Why are you following me?"

"I'm neighborhood watch," followed by, "Do you live here?"

Since Zimmerman didn't announce himself, it's a fair assumption that he had already decided Trayvon was up to no good. He didn't bother trying to de-escalate the situation at all.