What’s Behind All the Misinformation Surrounding the Trayvon Martin Killing?

UPDATED/EDITED: Monday, March 26th, 2012

From the initial 9-1-1 tapes there seemed little doubt that George Zimmerman should be charged and tried in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

Sanford, Fl. police dispatch asked Mr. Zimmerman if he was following Mr. Martin. When he responded in the affirmative he was warned NOT to do that.

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” laws DO NOT protect a shooter if he is “the aggressor.”

It also appeared as though the Sanford Police Dept had not properly investigated this killing and seemed to give George Zimmerman, of the neighborhood watch, a free pass.

All of that supposition (seems & appears) was because only one side had been heard, but given those 9-1-1 tapes, WHAT could possibly exonerate George Zimmerman other than some evidence that he was attacked and forced to defend himself?

Recently, some eye-witness accounts do seem to corroborate both Mr. Zimmerman's and the Sanford Polices accounts, SEE: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/trayvon_martin_killer_claims_teen_00q228deik6i3hP6misaaJ?utm_medium=SFnewyorkpost&utm_content=%0A++++++++National&utm_source=SFnewyorkpost


AND:


http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-26/news/os-trayvon-martin-zimmerman-account-20120326_1_miami-schools-punch-unarmed-black-teenager

Certainly everything else surrounding this case has been mired in gross misinformation. Trayvon Martin (an unarmed black teen) was NOT “shot and killed by a white cop.”

Today (Friday, March 23^rd, 2012) President Obama noted, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon martin.”

Yes, that’s very true, BUT if we were going to assign race based on the way it’s been assigned to George Zimmerman, then Barack Obama would be considered white.

George Zimmerman’s mother is Hispanic. His father is white.

The federal government treats Hispanics as a separate racial designation, as in “non-Hispanic black” and “non-Hispanic white.” Given that Mr. Obama is considered black, though his mother was white, it stands to reason that George Zimmerman is also Hispanic, though his father was white.

Why has that NOT been the case?

Certainly George Zimmerman looks Hispanic, just as Barack Obama looks black.

The media is largely liberal and therefore hopelessly paternalistic when it comes to race. The government, however has had very good reasons to traditionally add violent crimes committed by “light-skinned Hispanics” to “whites,” largely to avoid having the disproportionate black violent crime rates look even more appalling than they actually are. The FBI actually dishonestly, as a matter of policy, counts violent crimes committed by many Hispanics to whites.

In fact, Trayvon Martin, a racial minority (black) was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, another racial minority (Hispanic).

Moreover, George Zimmerman was not only NOT a police officer, he was not even a peace officer. He was merely a member of the community watch.

Nor is this kind of killing any LESS rare than the reverse – a black homeowner killing a white.

In a case that is ironically just coming to trial in Florida, then 69 y/o Trevor Dooley took it upon himself to go to a park across the street from his home, berate a young child for skateboarding on a basketball court no one was using, then shot and killed U.S. serviceman David James (41 y/0) in front of Mr. James 8 y/o daughter.

(David James)

(Trevor Dooley)

The available witness accounts of the David James killing go;

According to witness Michael Whitt, everyone on the playground at the time - the Whitts, James and his daughter and the skateboarder - was having a good time, Michael Whitt said.

That was until a man across the street stood in his garage and yelled that the young man was not allowed to skateboard in the park, Michael Whitt said.

"He did not come out of the house," Michael Whitt said. "He was standing at the door of his garage, and yelled over here. The kid kept riding."

Dooley, the man in the garage, yelled again, Michael Whitt said.

" 'Did you hear me?' " Michael Whitt recalled him saying.

James then yelled back, according to Michael Whitt.

"There are no signs posted to not ride," Michael Whitt recalled James saying.

The two men continued to yell at each other, but Michael Whitt said he was trying to play tennis with his wife and not really paying attention.

But "two or three minutes later," Michael Whitt said he saw Dooley "walking across the street. It struck me as odd. He had one pant leg pulled up to his knee."

Dooley had "both hands in his pockets" as he walked across the street toward James, Michael Whitt said.

Before he could get there, James took a few steps toward Dooley, according to Michael Whitt.

The two men exchanged more words, Michael Whitt said.

When he was about 10 feet from James, Dooley lifted up his shirt and cursed at James, according to Michael Whitt.

Dooley turned and started to walk back toward his house, Michael Whitt said. Then James started walking toward Dooley.

" 'What did you say?' " Michael Whitt said he heard James say. "What did you just say to me?' "

Dooley then turned back around toward James.

He had a gun, Michael Whitt said.

The two men were now about 8 feet apart and James lunged at Dooley, according to Michael Whitt.

"I am assuming he was thinking he was about to get shot," Michael Whitt said.

The two men struggled, said Michael Whitt. As they wrestled to the ground, the gun went off.

At first, James was holding Dooley down, according to Michael Whitt.

"He looked up and said, 'Call 911, I've been shot.' "

About 10 seconds later, James rolled off Dooley, then Dooley rolled over on his side, Michael Whitt said.

"He stood up, hobbled around a bit then went back down to his knees," Michael Whitt said.

By now, Whitt had called 911 and the operator was giving him instructions on how to check to see whether James was still alive.

Whitt said he checked his pulse in both the wrist and neck and tried to see whether James was breathing but there were no signs of life and his face was blue.

"I pressed down a little on his chest and blood came out of the bullet hole," Michael Whitt told deputies. "He made no movement."

Then the operator instructed Whitt what to say to Dooley.

Whitt said he instructed Dooley to empty his weapon and put it on the ground. Dooley, he said, stayed there until deputies arrived.

Dooley told Whitt, "'You saw him come at me, right?' or something like that. I didn't answer him."

Michael Whitt told deputies one more thing.

He saw a folding knife on the ground. He was not sure who owned it.

Michelle Whitt told investigators that the young man was skateboarding for about five minutes when Dooley yelled at him and said he was not allowed to skateboard.

James told the young man "'It was fine, don't worry. There are no signs posted. My kids skateboard here all the time,' " Michelle Whitt said.

Like her husband, Michelle Whitt said Dooley crossed the street in an aggressive manner.

He "lifted up his shirt and showed a gun," she said.

Dooley cursed at James, then walked back to his house, Michelle Whitt said.

James then started yelling at Dooley.

" 'Don't show your gun to me,' " she recalled James saying. "'Don't point a gun at me.' "

Then Dooley turned around and pointed the gun at James, Michelle Whitt said. James lunged. The two men struggled.

"They went to the ground and were wrestling on the ground," she said.

James was "sitting up on his knees" holding Dooley with one arm.

"The gun went off," Michelle Whitt said. "There was a loud pop. Blood sprayed everywhere."

Michelle Whitt said she "screamed to my husband."

Michael Whitt was running for his phone when James, still sitting on his knees, screamed "Call 911, I've been shot," she said.

"Then he rolled over on the ground and did not move again," she said.

These two cases are among the very few shootings that have occurred outside the commission of another crime (ie. a gunman shooting a store clerk, or a homeowner shooting an intruder), so it would appear that unarmed black teens are about as likely to be shot and killed (“profiled”) are as are unarmed U.S. servicemen peacefully playing with their daughters in a community park.

Nor is EITHER a case of “the Stand Your Ground Law run amok.”  Neither Mr. Zimmerman, nor Mr. Dooley appears to covered under the “Stand Your Ground” statutes. BOTH cases are best defended as basic self-defense scenarios, but witnesses have made that more difficult in both cases.

Mr. Dooley is being tried for manslaughter, which is another grave miscarriage of justice!

He deliberately took a gun across the street to confront a man who’d simply challenged his right to chase a child skateboarding in a park. BOTH Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Dooley should be charged with 2^nd degree murder!

While one of these two victims was black and another white, NEITHER of the shooters was “white.” Mr. Dooley is black and Mr. Zimmerman is as Hispanic as President Obama is black.