Tag Archives: Sanford Police Department

Trayvon Martin and the myth of ‘the first punch’

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The Trayvon Martin shooting and  the myth of ‘the first punch’

 

The Zimmerman family’s attempts to use the mass media may or may not work to George Zimmerman’s advantage, but regardless of legal outcome, the news media have an obligation not to purvey misunderstanding or misstatements of fact.

 

Zimmerman

The phrase ‘the first punch’ has been heard too often lately. It has also been accompanied too often by overstatement bemoaning how little we know about the shooting of seventeen-year-old, unarmed Trayvon Martin—about which we actually know quite a lot. ‘The first punch’ has also been too often part of fatuous assertions that ‘we may never know’ what happened. Actually, the justice system has an excellent chance of arriving at the truth about those very few minutes not directly recorded in the 911 calls to police. Forensics help.

In the meantime, however, when well-placed personnel in the news media toss around phrases like ‘the first punch’, with too much assertion and too little definition, it can get scary. The concept of self-defense is essential in everyday life as it is in the justice system. Given what we know about Zimmerman’s actions about 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2012, it is essential to remember that Trayvon Martin had a right to defend himself.

 

Trayvon Martin

Let’s start with ‘first punch’ in its literal sense. As anyone knows who has spent time sitting in courtrooms during domestic violence proceedings, not all fighting or close-hand violence takes the form of punching. In fact, you might be surprised how many husbands or domestic partners are credibly charged with dragging their female partners by the hair, throwing something at them, grabbing them roughly either by the throat or elsewhere, kicking them, or shoving them–into walls, or not; etc. It’s almost as though the aggressor in these cases was foreseeing a legal defense of sorts: “Your honor, I never hit her.” Then there’s the whole separate but related topic of threats of physical violence, along with the actual acts.

In such a case, the question ‘who threw the first punch’ is not the most important question. It might not even arise. Who in his right mind exonerates physical spousal abuse, child abuse or, for that matter, an attack on a stranger, just because it cautiously excludes punching? Conversely, if someone being attacked threw a punch against the aggressor, do you really illuminate the situation by summing it up, “Well, Martha threw the first punch”?

‘First punch’ in its figurative or broader sense, after all, means acting as the aggressor. The question ‘who threw the first punch’ is metonymy for the question, who started the fight? Who was behaving as the aggressor?

For the sake of simplicity, let’s leave ‘fighting words’ out of the equation—use of language that has been held to justify use of force. Let’s just take physical actions.

Give yourself a little quiz at home, in between working the crossword puzzle and Sudoku. In which of these situations would you not want the right to throw a punch?

  • When cornered by your friendly neighborhood rapist, escape not possible
  • When blitzed by a mugger
  • When being chased by someone bigger than you, and you’re running out of breath and/or can’t reach the nearest shelter ahead of the pursuer

Be it noted that in any of these situations, while you have a right to throw a punch, you also have latitude to use your best judgment about whether to do so. These situations do not usually conduce to best judgment on the victim’s part, of course. That’s the nature of aggression, that it trumps judgment as it trumps ethics. But in any case, you can always try to run away, to escape. According to George Zimmerman’s 911 call to police, that is exactly what Trayvon Martin did, and Zimmerman’s account is corroborated by that of the sixteen-year-old girl talking with Trayvon Martin on his cell phone, who has told police she urged him to run.

Anyone wondering whether George Zimmerman was using his best judgment, or trying to do so, can check out Zimmerman’s calls to the Seminole County sheriff’s office, linked here. There is ample indication that Zimmerman had already talked himself into perceiving any black teenager as a threat, and as someone just about to get away with something. Interestingly, Zimmerman had used that “I don’t know what his deal is” line in regard to one of the African-American garbagemen in his complex, before the fateful 911 call about Trayvon Martin.

The Orlando Sentinel previously reported that it was Zimmerman himself who initiated the presentation in his community by Neighborhood Watch. The Florida press did a good job generally reporting on the series of 911 calls.

Regrettably, on January 29 of this year the Tampa Tribune ran a front-page article titled “Use your phone to fight crime.” A GPS device is called “high-tech neighborhood watch.”

If the question is which man was the aggressor, not to give away the ending here, but my money’s on Mr. Zimmerman. He was the man with the 9mm handgun; he was the man in the vehicle calling the police on Trayvon Martin, who had a right to be there; he left the vehicle to go after the seventeen-year-old, after saying “okay” when advised by police not to do so. That Zimmerman is recorded on the 911 tape as saying, “Shit, he’s running,” and that Zimmerman’s brother, Robert Zimmerman, Jr., described Zimmerman as out of breath from running make it sound as though Zimmerman was running after Trayvon Martin. Close police investigation of the few-minutes timeline between Zimmerman’s 911 call and the death of Trayvon Martin, correlating the timeline with the distances between Zimmerman’s vehicle and Martin’s body, between the body and the sidewalk, etc., should clear up any residual doubt. Furthermore, Zimmerman was the man who walked away alive afterward, while an unarmed teenager was fatally shot. As has been reported, the Sanford Police Department initial reports of the shooting categorize it as “homicide–negligent manslaughter—unnecessary killing to prevent unlawful act.” Zimmerman’s gun was confiscated, and Zimmerman was searched, cuffed and taken into custody.

Witness testimony, the forensic examinations, detailed analysis of the short timeline, and a thorough analysis of the recorded screams—which sound like a young guy’s voice–all have yet to come. But in the meantime, nothing in the picture so far yields “Who threw the first punch?” as the intelligent question to ask.

How did that obfuscatory and self-serving misdirection become the meme of the week in discussions of the Florida case?

Trayvon Martin, question 4: Where was the iced tea can?

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Trayvon Martin, question 4: Where was the iced tea can, when police arrived at the scene?

George Zimmerman’s prominent defenders are not looking more credible on a closer look, with the passage of time. Florida State Attorney Norman (Norm) Wolfinger has popped up in news a few times, before his recent decision to negative arresting shooter George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

 

George Zimmerman

On May 3, 2008, the St. Petersburg Times noted that Wolfinger was among the state’s top-level double dippers:

“Two of the state’s top prosecutors, Lawson Lamar of Orange County and Norm Wolfinger of Brevard County, qualified to seek re-election. Wolfinger is unopposed and Lamar drew a little-known criminal defense lawyer as an opponent.

Lamar and Wolfinger are among the state’s top double dippers.

Lamar “retired” in 2005 without leaving office. He collected $514,927 in lump sum benefits, plus a $115,752 a year pension, plus an annual salary of $153,140.

Wolfinger followed suit in 2007. He collected $447,834 in lump sum benefits, plus an $83,484 a year pension, plus an annual salary of $153,140.

Circuit judges are paid $145,080.”

Titled “SHHH! Judges Keep Seats,” the article reported that a little-noticed amendment inserted quietly into state law by the Florida legislature allowed judges and some other public servants to be re-elected almost without notice—and without opposition—by moving the filing deadline for some officials to a different season than for others.

An Oct. 10, 2008, Florida Today piece referenced Wolfinger as stating publicly that ACORN was being investigated in connection with ‘voter fraud’. This article, published during a period of intense voter registration drives in Florida, was swiftly disseminated as a PR release by the Republican National Committee.

After 2008, the GOP-dominated Florida legislature stepped on voter registration so firmly that even the League of Women Voters, unhappily, no longer conducts registration drives in the state. At the time, however, the investigation of ACORN was so ‘controversial’—read, despised—that Wolfinger handed it off like a political hot potato within a week of the previous report.

Calls placed to Wolfinger’s State Attorney office are directed to the offices of Angela Corey, the special prosecutor in the case. Emailed questions to Communications Director Jacklyn Barnard in that office have not yet been answered.

On Nov. 6, 2009, Norm Wolfinger was in the news again. The AP, reporting the release of a Florida inmate, finally freed after spending 27 years wrongfully in prison for a crime he did not commit, includes this item pertaining to Wolfinger:

“Eric Ferrero, a spokesman in the Innocence Project’s national office, said 27 states currently have compensation laws on the books. Of those states, Florida is the only one where a roadblock occurs if the former inmate already had a felony conviction on his record.

Norman Wolfinger, the state attorney in Brevard County, said in a letter to the Legislature that while there isn’t enough evidence to convict Dillon again, lawmakers should consider that his innocence isn’t proven, either.”

It might charitably be argued that after that gaffe, Wolfinger became gun-shy about prosecuting. Something seems to have given him a strong motive for causing George Zimmerman not to be arrested in the shooting, even for manslaughter. Wolfinger, as has been reported, showed up at the Sanford police station in person that night.

Norman Wolfinger

Accuracy is always good news. Recent days have brought out the full 911 call by George Zimmerman, which makes clear that Zimmerman said not only “he looks black” about Trayvon Martin, but also that he said Martin looked suspicious, etc. Zimmerman’s loose statement in the call, accusing Martin of being on something, helps explain why the Sanford police tested the body of Trayvon Martin for drugs and alcohol although the initial police report has negatives for ‘drug related’ and ‘alcohol related’. Too bad NBC edited that 911 call wrong, for which the network has apologized.

The new, cleaned up and sharper images in the police video of George Zimmerman help, too. The newly released video clearly shows a cut or scrape on the back top of Zimmerman’s head. The injury is clearly not extensive.

So, a question: Could the cut on the head have been done with an aluminum beverage can? If George Zimmerman grabbed Trayvon Martin—macho-style, clutching the hoodie at the throat—it would have been natural for the seventeen-year-old to swing at him with whatever he had in his hands. The Skittles bag wouldn’t be much help, but the can would have some clout. So, along with the bloody nose from being punched, in this reconstruction, if Zimmerman grappled with the young man, Trayvon Martin might have swung at his head. If Martin did so, theoretically Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ law would protect him—unless it turns out that the law applies only to white people.

 

Trayvon Martin

A call placed to Zimmerman’s attorney Hal Uhrig has not yet been returned.

Rightwing web sites have publicized widely the item that George Zimmerman registered to vote as a Democrat. They are less eager to notice that the weather that evening was hoodie weather.

Were George Zimmerman’s bloodied nose—assuming it was bloodied—and head examined for a match to the iced tea can?

Was the iced tea can bagged as evidence? One of the worrisome aspects of the police video is that it shows police casually tossing George Zimmerman’s jacket into the trunk of the police vehicle, unbagged. But in any case, was the iced tea can examined for George Zimmerman’s DNA as well as for Trayvon Martin’s? Were any fingerprints on it besides Martin’s?

One of the clearer pieces of evidence the public has in this case is the recorded 911 call with screaming the background. I find that call painful to listen to but have listened to it carefully. The voice crying out in the background sounds like a young person, a high schooler, not like a man in his late twenties.

Another of the clearer items in evidence is George Zimmerman’s initial 911 call. Setting aside exactly what language Zimmerman used—something I have not been able to hear clearly—after the expletive, the rest of the exchange is clear. Zimmerman told police, in answer to their question, that he was following Trayvon Martin. The police then told Zimmerman, “Okay, we don’t need you to do that.” Zimmerman then answered, “Okay.”

Why? Why did George Zimmerman say “Okay” when police tried to get him to stay away from Martin? Was he so convinced that Martin would “get away,” as he put it—[they] “always get away”–that he simply resolved to stay close to him even though the rest of the call makes clear that police were on their way to meet up with Zimmerman?

“Shit, he’s running.”

As noted previously, none of the public statements in George Zimmerman’s defense have come from Zimmerman himself. They have been conveyed secondhand, if that, by Joe Oliver—who will no longer serve as the family’s media consultant—or by Zimmerman’s father and brother. Neither of the latter has made a credible statement to the media.

Now, the family has new representation and will put up a web site to aid in the defense and fund-raising. Attorney Hal Uhrig made the following statement:

“We pray for both the Martin and Zimmerman families for what this incident has caused in suffering,” said Uhrig. “We are confident that George Zimmerman, after being vindicated and exonerated, will continue to feel remorse, not for his justified actions but for the unintended consequences.”

What are the unintended consequences? Is this meant to suggest that the death was unintentional?

That brings to mind another question: If George Zimmerman was shooting only to defend himself against an unarmed man, why didn’t he shoot the person in the leg, or in the foot, or in the arm?

Trayvon Martin, question 1: Why were his hands underneath his body?

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Trayvon Martin, question 1: Why were his hands underneath his body?*

 

Trayvon Martin

There are no bright moments in the killing of seventeen-year-old Trayvon Benjamin Martin. A self-appointed ‘neighborhood watch’ guy named George Zimmerman apparently talked himself into believing that he was some kind of unofficial cop, carried a 9-mm. semi-automatic he never should have been allowed in the first place, and fatally shot an unarmed kid who was walking to his father’s place from a convenience store—as the public knows–carrying Skittles and a can of iced tea. The only helps are public outrage–over the lack of constructive action by Florida prosecutors—public servants, and public information.

George Zimmerman

Copious information is now available, with more coming out every day.

CNN.com has posted some of the public records, including the Sanford Police Department initial reports of the shooting.

George Zimmerman’s father, retired Virginia Judge Robert Zimmerman, and a self-described friend of Zimmerman’s named Joe Oliver have communicated with media on Zimmerman’s behalf, with interviews. The gist of the retired judge’s communication is that Zimmerman was attacked by Trayvon Martin, not the other way around. Oliver has appeared numerous times on air, also arguing that Zimmerman acted in self-defense.

Joe Oliver

ABC News yesterday published the Sanford police videotape of George Zimmerman arriving in the police station after the shooting. As ABC News points out, there is no sign of conflict visible on Zimmerman in the videotape. Virtually any viewer would have the same perception.

The SPD police reports are similarly eye-catching. While numerous criticisms of SPD performance have been reported, and this may turn out to be some kind of complicated case for legal reasons, right now it looks as though any complexity developed largely after the initial police report—not at the scene of the shooting.

To start with, Sanford Police Department reports categorize the shooting by type as “homicide–negligent manslaughter—unnecessary killing to prevent unlawful act.” Police arrived at the scene at or by 7:17 p.m., Sunday Feb. 26.

Address 2831 Retreat View Circle  Sanford FL 32771

Time report completed: 3:07 [a.m.] Feb. 27, 2012

Negatives for drug related and alcohol related

Reporting officer Ricardo Ayala

From Ayala’s statement:

“I then noticed that there was, what appeared to be a black male, wearing a gray sweater, blue jeans, and white-red sneakers laying face down on the ground. The black male had his hands underneath his body. I attempted to get a response from the black male, but was met with negative results. At that time Sgt. Raimondo arrived and attempted to get a pulse on the black male but none was found. At that time, Sgt. Raimondo and I turned the black male over and began CPR . . .

“Sgt. S. McCoy arrived on scene and relieved me doing [chest] compressions.

“Sanford Fire Rescue arrived on scene and attempted to revive the subject, but could not. Paramedic Brady pronounced the subject deceased at 1930 hours [7:30 p.m.].

“The scene was then secured with crime scene tape by Ofc. Mead and Ofc. Wagner. Ofc. Robertson began a crime scene contamination log.

“Lt. Taylor arrived on scene and notified dispatch to have Major Crimes respond to the scene.

“Ofc. Mead and Ofc. Wagner were able to make contact with neighbors in the area . . . to obtain statements from all witnesses on scene.

“The scene was turned over to SPD Major Crimes.”

Crime scene was processed by Diana Smith.

So at least six police and fire dept/paramedics were on the scene by 7:30, when Trayvon Martin was pronounced dead, thirteen minutes after the reporting officer, Ayala, arrived. Sounds pretty unambiguous so far. At least four more police officers arrived then or minutes later, with Major Crimes being called–another turn of events that does not sound like self-defense. The police turned the scene over to Major Crimes, which again does not sound like self-defense.

There were numerous seven adult witnesses, also. Quite a few people on scene.

Officer Ayala reports that he was en route after the initial call from Zimmerman at approximately 7:00 p.m. En route, he got word that shooting had been heard. He arrived at 7:17, within minutes of the shooting. Officer Timothy Smith, already there, had the suspect at gun point. Again, seems to be pretty unambiguous so far. When Ayala arrived, Smith had suspect Zimmerman in custody, identified as the person who had called about Trayvon Martin. Officer Ayala’s report refers to Martin as the victim.

Orlando defense attorney Craig A. Sonner, representing Zimmerman, could not be reached for comment on the question below.

From Ayala’s brief description of the scene, one phrase that leaps out is that the young black male’s hands were “underneath his body.”

This detail may not sound dramatic, but if the second-hand accounts of George Zimmerman’s story are to be accepted as his own story—which is not a given—then this is a further discrepancy. According to repeated statements by Joe Oliver and by Judge Zimmerman, which—again–purport to be George Zimmerman’s account, Zimmerman shot the seventeen-year-old in hand-to-hand combat, after being downed to the ground. Indeed, the claim is that Zimmerman was not only attacked by Martin, but attacked from behind, that he was knocked down on the ground, even that Martin banged Zimmerman’s head on the sidewalk.

The narrative then goes that, while on the ground and struggling face-to-face with Martin, George Zimmerman got his gun out of its holster—“was able to un-holster his gun”—and shot Trayvon Martin with it. In some of the more detailed accounts, this occurred after the gun was exposed and Martin saw it and said something about it, sounding rather like a bad guy out of The Closer.

Setting aside the drama, if one could, here’s the picture: George Zimmerman, via these accounts, is claimed to have been underneath Trayvon Martin. He was having his head banged on the sidewalk, or had just had it banged on the sidewalk; he shot him from the front.

Yet Martin’s body is found by police with “his hands underneath his body.”

So George Zimmerman, struggling for life according to his main apologists, wrestling on the ground with Trayvon Martin, even having his head banged on the sidewalk—shot Martin in self-defense and then got out from underneath Trayvon Martin’s body without dislodging Martin’s hands and arms?

How?

Other discrepancies in the narrative have been widely reported, especially in light of other public statements on the events.

The initial police report by Officer Timothy Smith, submitted with Officer Ayala’s, provides some detail helpful to Zimmerman. When Officer Smith removed Zimmerman’s gun and holster, he adds,

“While I was in such close contact with Zimmerman, I could observe that his back appeared to be wet and was covered in grass, as if he had been laying on his back on the ground. Zimmerman was also bleeding from the nose and back of his head.”

This part of the narrative is contradicted by the police videotape, of course. Zimmerman’s short, police-style closely clipped head shows no sign of blood or contusions or bruising. His clothes show no sign of conflict, his jacket no grass stains or wetness. In fact, the video shows Zimmerman leaning rather casually back against a wall, apparently concrete, with no visible discomfort re his head or back.

Appropriately, Zimmerman was not questioned at the scene, where he was not mirandized. Officer Smith says Zimmerman was placed in the back of a police car and given first aid by the SFD (Rescue 38). Zimmerman volunteered one comment–“I was yelling for someone to help me, but no one would help me.” Zimmerman was then taken to a police interview room, where he was interviewed by investigator D. Singleton.

 

One problem with subsequent handling by the judicial process, as has been noted, is that the actual police report above contradicts the March 21 public statement by City Manager Norton Bonaparte, Jr.:

“Why was George Zimmerman not arrested the night of the shooting?

When the Sanford Police Department arrived at the scene of the incident, Mr. Zimmerman provided a statement claiming he acted in self defense which at the time was supported by physical evidence and testimony. By Florida Statute, law enforcement was PROHIBITED from making an arrest based on the facts and circumstances they had at the time. Additionally, when any police officer makes an arrest for any reason, the officer MUST swear and affirm that he/she is making the arrest in good faith and with probable cause. If the arrest is done maliciously and in bad faith, the officer and the City may be held liable.”

Ohmygoodnessgraciousme we wanted to arrest him so badly, but we just couldn’t.

Another fan of The Closer.

As has been noticed—by Keith Olbermann and Lawrence O’Donnell among others on cable and by Jonathan Capehart among others in the print media–there is actually no such statement from Zimmerman on the scene.

Bonaparte also states as fact that George Zimmerman “was in fact on a personal errand in his vehicle when he observed Mr. Martin in the community and called the Sanford Police Department.”

Bonaparte also adds this from a subsequent statement by Zimmerman, not yet released: “Zimmerman’s statement was that he had lost sight of Trayvon and was returning to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by Trayvon.”

Many alert readers have noticed a problem with this account. Zimmerman’s truck was in the street. According to Officer Smith, Trayvon Martin’s body was “laying in the grass between the residences of 1231 Twin Trees Ln. and 2821 Retreat View Cir”—in the yard between buildings, not near the street. Even a charitable belief that Zimmerman intended to return to his truck has to note that, if so, he hadn’t gotten back near it. How far did Zimmerman chase Trayvon Martin? Or is the claim that Martin was chasing him, a claim contradicted by Martin’s cell phone conversation with his sixteen-year-old girlfriend?

For what it’s worth, however, even the flawed publicly released statement by the City Manager refers to Zimmerman’s phone call as a “non-emergency call.” It also refers to the phone call and the neighbors’ 911 calls as “key to the investigation.”

 

There are far more questions than this simple one. More later.

*It is sad to have to consider these dehumanizing details. Doing so should not be construed as lack of sympathy for the young man and for his family.