In case there's anybody on the planet who hasn't yet heard, it's the story of a 17 year old kid who was walking home to his father's house in a gated community in Sanford, near Orlando, when he was shot to death by a self-proclaimed neighborhood watch captain for appearing to be "up to no good."Why is this case so riveting? It's more than a typical murder case. It's about a ridiculous law (Stand Your Ground) in Florida that has allowed many people to literally get away with murder in the short time it's existed. It's about a total lack of justice. It's about a racist killer who's condemned by his own words. It's about a corrupt police department that lets an admitted killer walk free.
Here are the facts:
- This self-proclaimed "crime watch captain" is not a member of any crime watch organization and not a captain. He's not a cop. He's not a security guard. He's a delusional cop-wannabe. (People who actually are crime watch members know they are not to be armed. They know they are not to pursue anyone or create a confrontation. They know they have zero power, are not cops and are not to shoot anyone. They know that if they see a crime -- not a kid walking down the street -- they are to call the cops and then mind their business.)
- The kid was unarmed.
- Zimmerman, the vigilante murderer, was armed and was NOT supposed to be.
- He instantly decided Trayvon was "up to no good" -- his words -- based on the fact that Trayvon was walking down the street while black, talking on the phone and wearing a hoodie.
- He was a known chronic caller to the cops, having called 55 times since January.
- The police dispatcher specifically told him not to confront or pursue the kid. That's the job of professionals. He disobeyed. He got out of his truck and went after the kid on foot.
- His racist hatred was exposed by his own words on tape ("these assholes always get away"); ("fuckin' coons"). His defenders can't erase the tape or pretend they were "words of endearment" as his bizarre mouthpiece actually said with a straight face yesterday (more on Joe Oliver below).
- There is known corruption in the Sanford PD. The son of one of its cops was taped beating up a homeless guy. Nothing was done. In the Trayvon case they botched, they took samples of the VICTIM but not the murderer. No police dept in the country would be so unprofessional or stupid.
- Zimmerman had been arrested for battery on a cop a few years ago. He was ordered to attend anger-management classes.
- Zimmerman was known to be abusive to his girlfriend. Two years after being arrested for battery on a cop, he was hit with a restraining order.
- The lead homicide investigator wanted to arrest Zimmerman for manslaughter -- but the state attorney said no.
Yet the victim, Trayvon Martin, had a blood, alcohol and drug test done. That's right -- they tested the victim's corpse, but not the murderer.
Welcome to Florida.
The rightwing media ignored the story for weeks until it could no longer. Once they were forced to cover it, they had to find the right spin to make it appeal to their far rightwing bigoted base. Voila! Zimmerman, the vigilante murderer, is now the victim and the kid who was shot for walking while black with skittles is magically the attacker.
This guy's name is Joe Oliver, and he's been making the rounds on every network acting as a "close friend" and spokesperson for Zimmerman. Every show has accepted him at his word for some reason, giving him only softball questions. Every show, that is, until he appeared on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell last night on msnbc. We found out last night that Oliver barely knew Zimmerman, and has spoken to him only once in the last 6 weeks. Oliver could not explain the weird situation that arose when he quit his job to become spokesperson for a guy he barely knew. Why would he do that? Who's paying him? What's his real connection to Zimmerman?
WATCH the two part grilling he gets from Lawrence O'Donnell and NY Times reporter Charles Blow. It's 30 minutes long but well worth it.
As the Zimmerman apologists and rightwing defenders continue to spin their stories, we hear that Trayvon is the aggressor, and during a scuffle with Zimmerman, knocks him to the ground, breaks his nose, and repeatedly bashes his head against the ground.
Now take a look below at the exclusive ABC NEWS surveillance tape of Zimmerman getting out of the police car at the Sanford police department. The tape shows Zimmerman in handcuffs, though not under arrest, the night of the shooting. Notice what's missing. There's no bloody or broken nose. No wounds or blood on the back of his head can be seen. He walks with no problem whatsoever. No stumbling. Nothing showing a man who allegedly was in distress. The tape below is supposed to show a man who had just been in a life-or-death situation that forced him to pull the trigger and kill a 17-year-old kid to allegedly save his own life.
If you had your nose broken and your head repeatedly bashed on the ground, would you appear as normal as Zimmerman appears in this video?
With every passing day, and every new detail that comes out, this looks more and more like a huge load of crap and a coverup.
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