W.E.B. Du Bois
03-27-2012, 02:30 AM
So the police leaked Zimmerman's account to the press:
suntimes.com/news/nation/11539760-418/watchman-told-florida-cops-trayvon-martin-was-aggressor.html
The family and supporters of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin found themselves on the defensive Monday following revelations he had been suspended for marijuana before he was shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer. Police also confirmed a report that the watchman claimed Martin was the aggressor, punching him in the nose and smacking his head on a sidewalk.
Martin, 17, was suspended by Miami-Dade County schools because traces of marijuana were found in a plastic baggie in his book bag, family spokesman Ryan Julison said. Martin was serving the suspension when he was shot Feb. 26 by George Zimmerman, who was patrolling the neighborhood that Martin was visiting with his father.
Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and family attorneys blamed police for leaking the information about the marijuana and Zimmerman’s claim about the attack to the news media in an effort to demonize the teenager.
“They killed my son and now they’re trying to kill his reputation,” Fulton told reporters.
The Sanford Police Department insisted there was no authorized release of the new information but acknowledged there may have been a leak. City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. said it would be investigated and the person responsible could be fired.
Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said the link between the youth and marijuana should have no bearing on the probe into his shooting death. State and federal agencies are investigating, with a grand jury set to convene April 10.
“If he and his friends experimented with marijuana, that is completely irrelevant,” Crump said. “What does it have to do with killing their son?”
The state Department of Juvenile Justice confirmed Monday that Martin does not have a juvenile offender record. The information came after a public records request by The Associated Press.
Zimmerman, 28, claimed he shot Martin in self-defense and has not been arrested. Because Martin was black and Zimmerman has a white father and Hispanic mother, the case has become a racial flashpoint that has civil rights leaders and others leading a series of protests in Sanford and around the country.
Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Zimmerman told police he lost Martin in the neighborhood he regularly patrolled and was walking back to his vehicle when the youth approached him from behind. The two exchanged words, Zimmerman said, and Martin then punched him in the nose, jumped on top of him and began banging his head on a sidewalk. Zimmerman said he began crying for help; Martin’s family thinks it was their son who was crying out. Witness accounts differ and 911 tapes in which the voices are heard are not clear.
The Sanford police statement said the newspaper story was “consistent” with evidence turned over to prosecutors.
Well I guess someone on the Sanford Police Department decided to cash in on Trayvan's killing and leak details of the case in exchange for cash from the press. Good to see that Sanford PD is still being consistent with its non-existent standards of professionalism.
Zimmerman's story doesn't sound very convincing. So according to him, he was walking back to his car when Trayvan attacked him from behind. This contradicts the person Trayvan was talking to right before the attack. It also contradicts the 911 tapes where the yelling for help is stopped immediately after a gunshot.
So let me get this straight: a guy is banging your head into the ground and you are simultaneously crying for help and unsheating your gun, loading it, removing the safety, aiming and firing it? Wow that's a lot going on at one time.
Pretty amazing how Trayvan jumped on a man 100 pounds heavier than him too. He's got stones. Also amazing how the guy who lied to the police about breaking off his pursuit, and complained about "these asshole always get away" just decided to give up the chase...after lying about it mind you. Good timing on Zimmerman's part.
Maybe someone on the Sanford Police would be kind enough to leak some ballistics information so we can see what position the men were when Zimmerman slew him. Or maybe there is no ballistics information as the Sanford PD was probably posing for photos over Trayvan's corpse, or possibly jerking off to porn behind the bushes.
* Note an anonymous witness gave an interview to a Florida radio station that backed up Zimmerman's account that a man was on top of another (wearing a red shirth) beating him, and the guy on the bottom yelling for help. He says the guy with the red shirt was the guy who got killed later on.
It's possible, but maybe it was Zimmerman on top doing the pummeling and Trayvan on the bottom being pummeled and calling for help. That would make more sense than the I was loading my gun and yelling for help while a kid 100 pounds lighter than me was beating the shit out of me claim.
WEB
suntimes.com/news/nation/11539760-418/watchman-told-florida-cops-trayvon-martin-was-aggressor.html
The family and supporters of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin found themselves on the defensive Monday following revelations he had been suspended for marijuana before he was shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer. Police also confirmed a report that the watchman claimed Martin was the aggressor, punching him in the nose and smacking his head on a sidewalk.
Martin, 17, was suspended by Miami-Dade County schools because traces of marijuana were found in a plastic baggie in his book bag, family spokesman Ryan Julison said. Martin was serving the suspension when he was shot Feb. 26 by George Zimmerman, who was patrolling the neighborhood that Martin was visiting with his father.
Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and family attorneys blamed police for leaking the information about the marijuana and Zimmerman’s claim about the attack to the news media in an effort to demonize the teenager.
“They killed my son and now they’re trying to kill his reputation,” Fulton told reporters.
The Sanford Police Department insisted there was no authorized release of the new information but acknowledged there may have been a leak. City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. said it would be investigated and the person responsible could be fired.
Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said the link between the youth and marijuana should have no bearing on the probe into his shooting death. State and federal agencies are investigating, with a grand jury set to convene April 10.
“If he and his friends experimented with marijuana, that is completely irrelevant,” Crump said. “What does it have to do with killing their son?”
The state Department of Juvenile Justice confirmed Monday that Martin does not have a juvenile offender record. The information came after a public records request by The Associated Press.
Zimmerman, 28, claimed he shot Martin in self-defense and has not been arrested. Because Martin was black and Zimmerman has a white father and Hispanic mother, the case has become a racial flashpoint that has civil rights leaders and others leading a series of protests in Sanford and around the country.
Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Zimmerman told police he lost Martin in the neighborhood he regularly patrolled and was walking back to his vehicle when the youth approached him from behind. The two exchanged words, Zimmerman said, and Martin then punched him in the nose, jumped on top of him and began banging his head on a sidewalk. Zimmerman said he began crying for help; Martin’s family thinks it was their son who was crying out. Witness accounts differ and 911 tapes in which the voices are heard are not clear.
The Sanford police statement said the newspaper story was “consistent” with evidence turned over to prosecutors.
Well I guess someone on the Sanford Police Department decided to cash in on Trayvan's killing and leak details of the case in exchange for cash from the press. Good to see that Sanford PD is still being consistent with its non-existent standards of professionalism.
Zimmerman's story doesn't sound very convincing. So according to him, he was walking back to his car when Trayvan attacked him from behind. This contradicts the person Trayvan was talking to right before the attack. It also contradicts the 911 tapes where the yelling for help is stopped immediately after a gunshot.
So let me get this straight: a guy is banging your head into the ground and you are simultaneously crying for help and unsheating your gun, loading it, removing the safety, aiming and firing it? Wow that's a lot going on at one time.
Pretty amazing how Trayvan jumped on a man 100 pounds heavier than him too. He's got stones. Also amazing how the guy who lied to the police about breaking off his pursuit, and complained about "these asshole always get away" just decided to give up the chase...after lying about it mind you. Good timing on Zimmerman's part.
Maybe someone on the Sanford Police would be kind enough to leak some ballistics information so we can see what position the men were when Zimmerman slew him. Or maybe there is no ballistics information as the Sanford PD was probably posing for photos over Trayvan's corpse, or possibly jerking off to porn behind the bushes.
* Note an anonymous witness gave an interview to a Florida radio station that backed up Zimmerman's account that a man was on top of another (wearing a red shirth) beating him, and the guy on the bottom yelling for help. He says the guy with the red shirt was the guy who got killed later on.
It's possible, but maybe it was Zimmerman on top doing the pummeling and Trayvan on the bottom being pummeled and calling for help. That would make more sense than the I was loading my gun and yelling for help while a kid 100 pounds lighter than me was beating the shit out of me claim.
WEB