video.msnbc.msn.com/msnbc-tv/46775982/#4... Is there any other ethnic group who would sit silent while their precious is child walking from a store with candy and a drink is labeled suspicious by someone representing law enforcement approaches their as a criminal ? No. In the link above the volunteer ignores 911 protocol and command to discontinue following your unarmed child. Instead, he pursues the child and eventually initiates a confrontation in which your child, carrying Skittles and an Iced for your other child at home, is shot and killed while screaming for help.

Instead of the local police department realizing the volunteer was bad seed and committed murder against another unarmed fellow US Citizen, they allow him to move and walk free amidst evidence of a severe breech of justice against a community member and their family. This man deserves to be arrested and sentenced for first degree murder of a CHILD, unarmed, non-threatening, doing good in school, contributing positively to his family, community and eventually on a trend to do good for his country. Now, at the age of 17 years old at the hands of a full grown adult, he lays in the grave because someone determined he was "suspicious" a threat to his society based on walking from a store????


What message is sent to Americans youth about the value of their lives? What message is sent to members of the ethnic group who continues to be killed with little national concern even in cases like this one where if it happened to another American, the nation would be in an outrage, law enforcement hot on top of the perpetrator? This was this family's 9/11 on a micro level. Out of now where sudden unexpected trauma driven by another person's ignorance and hatred thinks he was doing another group a favor by sending a message of death. Was it racism; was the response of the police to the perpetrator consistent with historical racism? Why should children continue to be the victims of murder in the name of self-defense? And I also felt the young American who was shot and killed a homeowner just because the boy rang his doorbell was killed unjustly. Fortunately, the homeowner got the sentence he deserved and was charged with murder and sentenced.


While the nation should grieve for this kind of behavior done by adults supposedly in a position to protect the community, we should realize young children grow up and see this done and are often getting indirect reinforcement that doing good means little if your skin color is within the shades of Brown, beautiful Brown light to dark. US Citizens are still in a struggle to know fairness, justice and mercy.

I'm not one to rush to judgment here, but it does sound like this Neighborhood Watch Captain was told to stand down by the 911 operator before any altercation took place.  If that is the case, I think the police have some explaining to do as to why this is not being investigated as a full blown homicide, with the shooter in custody.

According to a report in the Miami Herald, here is a public statement made by the police.

“Mr. Zimmerman’s claim is that the confrontation was initiated by Trayvon,” Police Chief Bill Lee said in an interview. “I am not going into specifics of what led to the violent physical encounter witnessed by residents. All the physical evidence and testimony we have independent of what Mr. Zimmerman provides corroborates this claim to self-defense.”

To claim self-defense, someone has to show there was danger of great bodily harm or death, Lee said. “Zimmerman had injuries consistent with his story,” Lee said.

The Watch captain is a rather big, beefy guy and the teenager he shot dead seems pretty small, although he was a football star.  Hard to imagine a deadly scuffle between the two, esp since the teenager was not armed with anything but candy and a drink -- and the drink is something the watch captain should have seen.  The real question is why this captain felt the need to confront a teenager carrying a pop in "his" (the watch captain's) neighborhood.  A case of "walking while Black," perhaps.  According to the news report I heard, the captain told the 911 agent 'no, he (the watch captain) was sick of these ___whatever expletive____ getting away with..."   when he was told not to confront the "suspicious person".

I just hope the State Attorney does what the police have failed to do and makes sure this guy is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.  

BTW, you don't want to know what I would do if this were my child.  The whole thing makes me beyond angry, and I don't even know the child.

I don't mean to paint all law/peace enforcement with a broad brush but there is a real danger with a certain element attracted to law enforcment service that is very trigger happy. With this certain subgroup they crave some kind of altercations, truly.  Some of these people are so unballanced that they practicaly create the altercation so that they can respond in full hero glory.

I have an ex brother in law that became a kind of county peace officer and although I have not heard of him killing anyone he did take tremendous satisfaction in pulling people over.  There was nothing more thrilling or self affirming to him. He would have joined the actuall police force if he would have qualified.

I simply can't imagine what the family is going through in this case.  I can't imagine how they will ever reconcile this situation.  It is painful to think about.