RangerDave wrote:
It's extremely important to remember here that Martin was completely innocent of any wrongdoing right up to the moment he swung at Zimmerman, so Zimmerman pursued and placed in fear a completely innocent person based on some vague and subjective suspicions. That innocent person reacted badly to the provocation and might himself have been charged with assault had he lived, but the rightfulness or wrongfulness of Zimmerman's precipitating actions doesn't depend on the rightfulness or wrongfulness of Martin's eventual reaction.
The fact that Martin wasn't doing anything wrong isn't something we need to remember, it's irrelevant. In fact, it's beyond irrelevant; it's a fact that legally cannot be considered, and we really should not consider in our discussions here.
A person's actions cannot be judged in hindsight on the basis of information they did not have and could not reasonably have had at the time. Zimmerman saw someone he considered suspicious. Had Martin been on his way to burglarize a place, that would not make him
at the time Zimmerman saw him any more suspicious just because he eventually turned out to be a criminal. In reality, he was not on his way to do any such thing, and by the same token that does not in any way impeach Zimmerman's actions or suspicions.
Second, "putting someone in fear" is not meaningful. Zimmerman was not engaging in any action that reasonably could be called a provocation, or any sort of imminent or clear threat towards Martin. Martin, at most, had cause to be
suspicious of Zimmerman. That's all. This is no different that Zimmerman being suspicious of Martin; in fact, both had about equally strong reasons to be suspicious of the other. The difference is Zimmerman called the police; Martin called some idiot girl he knew and then started a confrontation. The simple fact is, however, that stupid as Zimmerman's actions may have been, they never rose to the level that would remotely justify self-defense by Martin. Martin's eventualy total overreaction is not evidence that Zimmerman acted unreasonably in the first place.
As for the "B movie embellishments" Martin was supposedly engaged in, kids talk like that a lot trying to sound tough. Most likely they learn a lot of it from movies, and it's hardly theatrical or an obvious embellishment at all.
Quote:
So, roughly 18 seconds elapsed (2:10-2:28) between the moment Zimmerman got out of his car and the moment he acknowledged that the dispatcher said not to follow Martin. From that point to the point where the dispatcher asks for the address of Zimmerman's truck, and Zimmerman responds that he doesn't have the address because he's in the cut-through, is 52 seconds (2:28-3:20). It only took him 18 seconds to get from his truck to the point where he was told not to follow, but 52 seconds later, he's still in the cut-through, and he hadn't yet been asked for an address, so that's not why he was lingering in there for those 52 seconds.
The dispatcher then suggests that Zimmerman just meet the cops at the mailboxes, but Zimmerman wants them to call when they arrive so he can just tell them where he is at that time (during this back-and-forth, another 45 seconds go by (3:20-4:05), and Zimmerman still hasn't left the cut-through. Finally, based on the Wiki timeline, from the moment the call ends to the moment the confrontation with Martin occurs is another 2-2.5 minutes (7:13:41 - approx. 7:16), and he still hasn't left the cut-through.
So, it was only 18 seconds between when Zimmerman left his car and when the dispatcher told him not to follow Martin, but he stayed in the cut-through for another 3.5-4 minutes. Why did he linger so long? Even if you allow for some indecision on his part when the dispatcher asked for the address of his truck at 3:20, why was he still in the cut-through at that point anyway? Why does he want the cops to call and get his location when they arrive instead of just meeting them at the mailboxes like the dispatcher suggested at 3:42? Why was he still in the cut-through a full 2-2.5 minutes after the NEN call ended? It seems pretty obvious to me that he was hanging around in there to see if he could spot Martin.
There isn't any particular reason Zimmerman should have left the cut-through. Furthermore, if he was "hanging around to see" Martin, that greatly weakens the position that he was in any way pursuing, chasing, or following Martin, and if he was hanging out there, that pretty much requires Martin to approach him and start the confrontation.
This is making it look like Martin was not in fear, he was
pissed that some "white" guy was following him.
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