Thread: Did The Hispanic Neighborhood Watchman Have Cause To Be Suspicious Of Trayvon Martin?

Originally Posted by Goldwater

You know what though...walking up to someone and asking him what he's doing is not a crime.

Good point Goldwater. That is what people are forgetting. Being suspicious is not against the law, inquiring into someone's business is not against the law, neither is keep an eye on someone. Trayvon had every right to call the police though if he felt threatened by Zimmerman keeping an eye on him.

There is a section in the Bronx that is private, anyone can drive on the roads, but they are responsible for their own plowing, garbage, paving etc... They hire their own security. I am a runner and I used to leave my apartment at night (when it was cooler) in the summer to go for a run. When I first started doing it I would notice that I would be followed by the security guards in their car. I knew what they were doing and it didn't bother me because they were just doing their job and protecting the neighborhood they were hired to watch.

Never once did I confront them. After a while, I guess when my face became familiar they stopped following me.

The point is, even is Zimmerman did get out of his car while on the phone with 911 after he lost sight of Trayvon, if Trayvon came at him, he had every right to defend himself.

Originally Posted by Goldwater

How did Zimmerman get within range of Martin's fist?

Who was the police dispatcher talking to when they told "someone" they didn't need "someone" to follow Martin?...

If it was Zimmerman...what happened?.....did he stop following Martin, and somehow wound up getting out of his car near Martin for other reasons?

Do I understand your question correctly?

You think you need to walk up to someone and ask them what they're doing to get within punching distance of them? Maybe Trayvon walked up to Zimmerman and said "stop followin' muh ass yo punk ass (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)!" and then sucker punched him.

Who knows? We weren't there.

Originally Posted by FreshAir

none that I am aware of, definitely no reason to follow him after 911 told him not too

On the 911 recordings, Zimmerman says the guy in the hoodie is looking at him and starting toward him...Not much after that. I don't think anyone can say anything definitely.

Originally Posted by Irishman

The police never told him not to leave his car. Get your facts straight before spouting false garbage.

The police told him they didn't need him to follow Martin. If he wouldn't have followed Martin, he wouldn't have come in contact with Martin.

Unless you think Zimmerman stopped following Martin, and then Martin started following Zimmerman, on foot, and then ambushed Zimmerman when he stopped his car to look at a street sign.......yeah....sure.....th at's plausible..

Originally Posted by Zook

You think you need to walk up to someone and ask them what they're doing to get within punching distance of them? Maybe Trayvon walked up to Zimmerman and said "stop followin' muh ass yo punk ass (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)!" and then sucker punched him.

You most abslutely need to walk up to someone to get within punching range, or they must walk up to you....either way...you have to get within walking distance, and Zimmerman was driving........until he got out of his car near Martin

Is there evidence to support the notion that Zimmerman's "following" of Martin suddenly turned into Martin following Zimmerman?......not even Zimmerman is alleging that....is he?

Originally Posted by Goldwater

I repped him for that.

THANK YOU!!! It was deserved!!!

Originally Posted by Goldwater

The police told him they didn't need him to follow Martin. If he wouldn't have followed Martin, he wouldn't have come in contact with Martin.

No, wrong. The police told him nothing. It was the 911 operator who told him stop. There is no legal obligation to follow the orders of a 911 operator and sometimes can make your situation worse then it is. For instance, if I called 911 to tell them someone was breaking into my house with my family there, they we say to hide and wait for the police. I would not be following that advice as I am not going to sit around and wait for someone to potentially harm someone in my family.

Originally Posted by Goldwater

Unless you think Zimmerman stopped following Martin, and then Martin started following Zimmerman, on foot, and then ambushed Zimmerman when he stopped his car to look at a street sign.......yeah....sure.....th at's plausible..

That could be the case. Zimmerman was on the phone still with 911, and I believe he lost sight of Martin. He could have been walking back to his car when Trayvon confronted him to see what was up.

Anything is possible at this point.

Originally Posted by Injeun

Do you have a link to a transcript or audio of what you say Zimmreman was told by the dispatcher? The one I heard, told him that he didn't have to follow the suspect. At any rate, under the circumstances of that evening, he didn't have to stay in his car. So you're wrong about that. And leaving his vehicle didnt cause the shooting. By all accounts, it was Martins aggression that forced the shooting. Following someone or walking on the same sidewalk at a distance from another person in your own neighborhood is not aggressive. And if Zimmerman wanted to kill someone, he would have made sure there were no witnesses, and he certainly wouldn't have gotten into a brawl first. He would have just shot him, called the police, and fed them a concocted story. Face it, it is as it is....a neighborhood watch guy and an aggressive teen bent on doing whatever the hell he wanted, cause he thought he was tough. The only way Zimmerman is guilty is if he confesses that the fight ended and he shot him in anger rather self defense. In that case, he'll go to prison. But barring a surprise confession, he'll go free. And rightly so.

If he was supposed to get out of his car it was supposed to be at the mailboxes where the police were to meet him.

What is IMPORTANT - is what Zimmerman says... "They always get away!!" that is all that it is going to take to put him behind bars... He will not go free - he is doomed for saying the kid was on drugs (which he wasn't) and trying to make a case for him to "confront" the boy... and why did he say, "They always get away..." ?

Originally Posted by DBM aka FDS

If he was supposed to get out of his car it was supposed to be at the mailboxes where the police were to meet him.

What is IMPORTANT - is what Zimmerman says... "They always get away!!" that is all that it is going to take to put him behind bars... He will not go free - he is doomed for saying the kid was on drugs (which he wasn't) and trying to make a case for him to "confront" the boy... and why did he say, "They always get away..." ?

Could have been context. He could have meant that they always get out of his sight, hide or run away from him if they know he is watching them. Maybe he was hell bent on not letting Martin out of his sight until the police arrived.

Originally Posted by Frogger

While Trayvon Martin may not have been a thug, he sure portrayed himself as one. The night of the incident he was wearing a hoodie and had his hat on sideways. This not the attire of an innocent little boy. Couple this with the pictures Trayvon himself posted online and the comments he made online and you have an almost perfect picture of either a thug or a thug wannabe.

Neighborhood watch people are supposed to report suspicious people. That is the reason there are neighborhood watches.

Should Zimmerman have followed Martin? Probably not. He did, however, stop following him and was returning to his car when Martin approached him. At this point, Martin went from being stalked to being the stalker.

I voted yes in the poll. If I was a neighborhood watch person and saw someone I didn't recognize walking through the neighborhood at night, especially someone dressed as Trayvon Martin was, I would be suspicious too.

Many of the black people I'm frinds with wear hoodies, because it's in style, and none of them have records.