Police say Zimmerman had chances to defuse situation before shooting Martin

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Police say Zimmerman had chances to defuse situation before shooting Martin

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/26/12420630-police-say-zimmerman-had-chances-to-defuse-situation-before-shooting-martin?chromedomain=dailynightly&lite

Police released more documents, photos and audiovisual files on Tuesday afternoon from the case of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, accused of murder in the second degree in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26.

Here is a PDF file containing 29 pages of investigative reports.

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Zimmerman told police that he saw Martin, followed him, passed him in his vehicle, called the police non-emergency line, then lost sight of Martin, and was confronted by Martin, who attacked him when Zimmerman reached into his pocket for his cell phone to call 911.

The report shows that police concluded that Zimmerman's actions were "inconsistent" with someone who was afraid of Martin, and that Zimmerman had several chances to end the encounter without violence.

[pacalo]

1. This case is all about common sense -- or, rather, the lack of common sense by a

self-appointed neighborhood armed guard.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. When I think how the good ole boys of Seminole County almost swept this one under the

rug, it just makes me appreciate more how national attention is really the only way to clean up an arrogant, insular society.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. "...passed him in his vehicle..."

I'm not a judge or a jury, but that's the deal-breaker right there.

If Zimmerman had done what he was told to do by the 911 operator and just kept PASSING in his VEHICLE, none of this would have happened. It makes "stand your ground" a mind-numbingly feeble defense IMHO.

[HopeHoops]

4. He just needed to vent and Trayvon ended up taking the exhaust.

[joeybee12]

5. I've said it before...the buddy in the DA's office who just happened to show up

that night...the buddy of Daddy Zimmerman...and told the police it couldn't be prosecuted...that's the guy involved in the cover-up.

[frylock]

16. yep..

a lot of people want to fault the PD for this, but the detective at the scene was ready to charge zman.

[Tommykun]

6. All violent conflict can be avoided,

but stupid people will always take the dumbest route. The 911 operator told him to stop following the kid, leave him alone, and go about his way. At that point, for any person that is not able to count the amount of active brain cells in their head on one hand, they would have said "Okay, I'll just go home," and proceeded to do so.

But no, Captain Vigilante had to follow him, harass him, and once the kid had enough and started fighting back, he shot Trayvon.

I can not facepalm hard enough to reflect the confusion and disbelief of how dumb some people are.

[Downtown Hound]

18. I don't know about ALL violent conflict can be avoided

But A LOT of it definitely can, and in this case, it sure as hell could have been.

[Tommykun]

21. Allow me to amend my original post...

All violent conflict can be avoided if you are the perpetrator.

[csziggy]

7. The investigator had it right - Zimmerman should have been charged that night

From the Report of Investigation - Chris Serino - page 9 of 13 (page 10 of PDF)

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/NEWS/zimmerman_martin_evidence_20120626.pdf
The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement, or conversely if he had identified himself to Martin as a concerned citizen and initiated dialog in an effort to dispel each party’s concern. There is no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any criminal activity at the time of the encounter. Zimmerman, by his statements made to the call taker and recorded for review, and his statements made to investigators following the shooting death of Martin, make it clear that he had already reached a faulty conclusion as to Martin’s purpose for being in the neighborhood.

All Zimmerman had to do was to stick his head out his vehicle's window and say, "Hey, can I help you?"

If Martin had been the criminal Zimmerman had profiled him to be, that would have scared him off. As a innocent person, Martin probably would have just responded, "Thanks, just headed home." If that didn't satisfy Zimmerman, a civil discussion would have already begun.

Instead, according to the police reports in the link in the OP, Zimmerman rolled up his window when Martin approached his vehicle, then followed Martin both in the vehicle and on foot. no wonder Martin was apprehensive - any reasonable person would have been.

Zimmerman was the one that created and escalated the tension in the situation when he should have been the one to defuse it.

[JI7]

8. i think he just wanted to shoot the kid , just like that guy in texas

[mzmolly]

9. He didn't want the "asshole/punk" to "get away"

like "they always" did, before.

[slackmaster]

10. Yes, he obviously used poor judjment

[Hugabear]

11. Ya think?

If he would have obeyed the 911 operator's instructions, none of this would have happened! Treyvon would still be alive, George and his wife wouldn't be locked up in jail, and none of us would ever have heard of any of them.

[Aerows]

12. Nobody in their right mind

Would exit their vehicle with a gun and pursue someone after they called the police. In fact, everyone else with a brain larger than the bullets in their gun would wait for the police to arrive instead of trying to be an action hero with a weapon.

This guy has a hero complex and wanted to be the big man around town just because he had access to a pistol and a finger to pull the trigger. All of this could have been avoided if he would have just waited in his truck and kept his ego in check.

[Meiko]

14. True

every word of it....

[Meiko]

13. It is always the best

policy to just back away from a situation, do what you have to do to escape.You cannot go toe to toe with everyone you perceive as a threat, there are just too many freaks out there. If you carry a gun this needs to be burned into your brain. There are situations that will arise that will not allow you to retreat but they are rare. This is not going to go well for Zimmerman if prosecution can get a jury to understand this.

[malaise]

15. He killed a teenage boy

He must pay

[Rex]

17. Wow, so he is no longer a watch capitan huh?

I hope this guy ends up with the death penalty.

[Meiko]

19. That's a bit

harsh wouldn't you say...that would make the penalty for jay walking 25 to life.

[jwirr]

20. His statement here leaves out quite a bit between seeing him and killing him. Things like getting

out of his car and following him on foot etc. His first chance to difuse the situation was while he was talking to 911. He should have let the police handle the situation.