Zimmerman was not merely "following" Trayvon, rather he was searching for Trayvon with malice against Martin of whom he had already described as an "asshole" prior to Trayvon Martin "running" away from Zimmerman. While actively searching for Trayvon, Zimmerman called Trayvon a "Fucking Coon, Goon or punk. After Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, we learned through his interviews with detectives and his written statement that, before, during and after Zimmerman's searched for and found Martin, in Zimmerman's mind that night Trayvon was "the unarmed, asshole, teenage, punk, suspect" who "vandalizes neighborhoods" who needed to be "restrained" even after Zimmerman killed him.
I think Zimmerman's state-of-mind before, during and after he searched for and found Trayvon Martin shows that Zimmerman "precipitated the confrontation" with Martin which makes Zimmerman the aggressor. By that I mean, Zimmerman willfully, knowingly and with forethought provoked a conflict and created the circumstances that directly lead to his use of deadly force against Martin and that is not justifiable homicide (self defense). I think the evidence shows Zimmerman exacerbated the circumstances that lead to his use of deadly force against Martin by not identifying himself to Martin along with reaching into his pants pocket to get his 'cell phone' (that he admitted later was not even in his pants pocket) when he found and ultimately killed Trayvon.
Malice, in the legal sense, is defined as:
malice n. a conscious, intentional wrongdoing either of a civil wrong like libel (false written statement about another) or a criminal act like assault or murder, with the intention of doing harm to the victim. This intention includes ill-will, hatred, or total disregard for the other's well-being.
Here are some facts that are in evidence that I believe indicate Zimmerman was acting with malice (ill-will and disregard for the other's well being) as he
searched for Trayvon:
1. He thought Travyon was in his late teens and cursed when Trayvon started "running" away from him.
2. He told Detectives he never thought Trayvon had a firearm.
3. He told Detectives he was never scared of, nor intimidated by Trayvon, while Zimmerman was "monitoring" and "following" Trayvon by car.
4. Zimmerman told Detectives that when he was in his car, his state-of-mind was that Trayvon as an "unarmed" "punk" who "victimizes neighborhoods."
5. At the very second Trayvon started "running" away from Zimmerman, he grabbed two flashlights and had his loaded weapon with one in the chamber with no external safety feature down his pants searching for the unarmed "asshole" teenage "punk" who was "running" away from Zimmerman.
6. Zimmerman told detectives he "forgot" he was carrying his loaded weapon with one in the chamber and no external safety mechanism.
7. Zimmerman told detectives after he 'shot' Trayvon, he held on to his loaded firearm as he got on top Trayvon's back to restrain Trayvon until officers arrived.
8. Zimmerman told detectives he fell down on to his back as soon as Trayvon allegedly punched him the first time.
9. Zimmerman's state-of-mind: in written statement he wrote that 911 Dispatch told him not to follow Trayvon.
10. Detectives told Zimmerman he had no authority to monitor Trayvon Martin that night. Sanford Police Department did not authorize Zimmerman to "follow" Trayvon Martin.
11. Detectives told Zimmerman that Trayvon Martin had a legal right to defend himself against Zimmerman
12. Zimmerman refers to Trayvon Martin as "the suspect" throughout his entire written statement
13. Zimmerman wrote in a statement that Trayvon Martin "saw his exposed fire arm."
It is not "illegal" to follow people, it might not even be illegal to search for someone who is not committing a crime but who is running away from you -- maybe that's why predators search for their prey in public.
Some people say if Martin threw the first punch then Zimmerman has a "self defense" claim because that would somehow 'mean' Martin "confronted" Zimmerman. Which I disagree with, in part, because Martin already proved he did not want any type of confrontation with Zimmerman when he employed the "duty to retreat" and started "running" away from Zimmerman. Some people may think that a predator who is searching for their prey, when their prey started "running" away from them, that the prey has no right to try fight their way out of the situation prior to the predator touching them but that is not what FBI agents imply:
Kick, bite, and no matter what the threat, do not go along with your kidnapper. Once he takes you away, your chances of survival greatly diminish. Yell, scream, fight and run from any potential abductor.
- Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI profiler and hostage negotiator 2009
People have a right to defend themselves from the threat of physical injury when a predator, they have already started "running" away from, searches for them and finds them. In Trayvon Martin's case, any belief that Zimmerman meant to cause physical harm to Trayvon was reasonable given the fact that Trayvon knew Zimmerman was following him by car and then searched for and found him after he started "running" away from Zimmerman. Which goes back to Zimmerman
precipitated the confrontation and
provoked a conflict and created the circumstances that directly lead to his use of deadly force against Martin.
Trayvon Martin had no way of knowing what Zimmerman wanted because when Zimmerman found him, he admits, he never identified himself. And, when he found Martin, Zimmerman also admits he started "reaching in his pants pocket to get" his cellphone (which he later admitted was not in his pants pocket and which he never got out.) For all Trayvon knew, Zimmerman was a potential abductor who was reaching in his pocket for his gun and who was going to try to rape him. Maybe Trayvon was "running" away from him because he thought Zimmerman was a predator who meant to harm him. I do not think the law allows a predator to search for their prey and at the same time does not allow the prey to fight like hell to get away from a predator and if there is such a law giving predators that much control over the prey they are searching for, I would like it if someone would cite that law for me.
If Martin did punch Zimmerman, and I do not think the Autopsy Report supports that, but if he did, then that means Trayvon Martin followed the advice of the FBI Agent who said: run from and fight your potential abductor.
We know from Zimmerman's 911 call that Trayvon Martin was not committing any crime and he saw Zimmerman was following him. So, rather than "stand his ground" Martin willfully, knowingly and with forethought started "running" away from him. It was at that moment, Zimmerman willfully, knowingly and with forethought grabbed two flashlights, had his loaded firearm with one in the chamber and no external safety feature to search for the "unarmed, teenage, punk, suspect," who "vandalizes neighborhoods" and who was running away from him.
Martin's actions show he was trying to avoid a confrontation whereas Zimmerman actions show he provoked a conflict and created the circumstances that directly lead to his use of deadly force against Martin.
That said, Zimmerman's "state-of-mind" before, during and after he searched for Trayvon and killed Trayvon is important:
To Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin was "the suspect." In criminal law, a suspect is someone who is under suspicion, often formally announced as being under investigation by law enforcement officials. Therefore, evidence shows that before and during his search for Trayvon that night, Zimmerman's state-of-mind was that Trayvon was an: "unarmed, asshole, teenage punk, suspect" who "victimizes neighborhoods" who needed to be "restrained" even after Zimmerman killed him.
To me, just looking at that evidence alone shows Zimmerman searched for and killed Trayvon Martin out of malice. And it is that malice from Zimmerman that "precipitated the confrontation" which resulted in dragging Trayvon into an altercation.
EVIDENCE SUPPORTING 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
(Zimmerman thought Trayvon was an unarmed asshole teenage punk who victimizes neighborhoods)
From 911 call:
[1:39] Zimmerman: OK. These assholes. They always get away.
When you come to the clubhouse, you come straight in and you go left. Actually, you would go past the clubhouse.
dispatcher: OK, so it’s on the left hand side of the clubhouse?
[2:08] Zimmerman: Yeah. You go in straight through the entrance and then you would go left. You go straight in, don’t turn and make a left. SHIT HE's RUNNING. (bells from door opening and Zimmerman breathing harder heard)
Zimmerman told detectives he
never thought Trayvon had a weapon and he was
not scared or intimidated by Trayvon:
DETECTIVE: He’s reaching in his waistband?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
DETECTIVE: So what do you think there’s a possibility that he has?
ZIMMERMAN: Well, the guy 3 weeks, 2 weeks prior, did the same thing when he saw me, like put his hand in his jacket and watched me walk by and then he lit a cigarette. So I thought that he was just trying to, um, look tough or intimidate.
DETECTIVE: So, you did not think he had a weapon?
ZIMMERMAN: No, no. I did not.
DETECTIVE: You thought he was just trying to bluff you.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes
DETECTIVE: Hey, did that scare you? The bluff?
ZIMMERMAN: No.
Detectives Serino and Singleton replay 911 tape for Zimmerman
(plays tape 1:28 to 1:34)
DETECTIVE: That statement. These assholes…what’s behind that?
ZIMMERMAN: People that victimize the neighborhood.
.
.
.
DETECTIVE: What is that you’re whispering? Fucking what?
ZIMMERMAN: Punks.
DETECTIVE: Fucking punks. He wasn’t a fucking punk. (clears throat)
(plays tape 2:17 to 2:26)
From Zimmerman's 911 call, we all know that Trayvon was not "victimizing the neighborhood" Trayvon was not committing any crimes and Zimmerman never once described one single thing Trayvon was doing that would even give rise to calling Trayvon a "suspect." Zimmerman's 911 call describes Trayvon as a teenager who was simply walking home, minding his own business.
EVIDENCE SUPPORTING 6 and 7:
(Zimmerman told detectives he "forgot" he was carrying his loaded firearm with one in the chamber and no external safety mechanism. And was still holding his loaded gun in his hands as he restrained Travyon Martin after Zimmerman already killed him.)
At the 34:03 minute mark of the video Zimmerman describes what he was doing as he was on top of Trayvon Martin's back after he killed Trayvon:
Zimmerman: I was on top of him, straddling him, he was face down, when he kept hitting me in the face it felt like something was in his hands, so I thought he had a weapon, so I grabbed his hands and pushed them away from his body, and I said, "STOP! Don't move." He was saying something like "ahhhh ahhhhh and cursing" and I said, "STOP, don't move" and then somebody came and had a flashlight and I thought was a cop and I said - oh and I still had my gun in my hand as I was holding his hands apart and I said are you a cop he said "no" but I'll call them. I said, "I don't need you to do that I need you to help me restrain this guy."
At the 42.08 minute mark of the video Zimmerman says he
forgot he was carrying his loaded gun with one in the chamber and no outside safety feature. :
“To be honest with you, the whole time I forgot that I had the gun. When he said that I was gonna die, and then I felt him brushing, it automatically clicked that he was going for my gun.”
Zimmerman said he was on his way to Target, which is a family oriented store, to do his Sunday shopping. Zimmerman was going shopping at Target and
forgot he was carrying his loaded weapon, with one in the chamber and no external safety feature. Look, a lot of responsible gun owners, myself included, who are CCW holders, might carry "one in the chamber" when they are in a "high risk" area. Zimmerman
forgot he was carrying a loaded weapon with one in the chamber on his way to Target. Zimmerman's neighborhood was not even "high risk" because his neighborhood only had some unarmed petty theft going on. That does not mean Zimmerman did or did not act in self defense but it does show Zimmerman is not a responsible firearm owner. A responsible firearm owner does
not forget when they're carrying, especially when they're carrying with one in the chamber.
Zimmerman forgot he was carrying his loaded weapon, with one in the chamber and no external safety feature as he searched for the unarmed "asshole" teenage "punk" who was "running" away from him.
EVIDENCE SUPPORTING 8:
(Zimmerman told detectives he fell onto his back as soon as Travyon allegedly punched him the first time.)
In an interview with Detectives
ZIMMERMAN: And I said, Hey man, I don’t have a problem. And he goes, No, now you have a problem. And he punched me in the ah at that point I fell down, ah I tried to defend myself, he just started punching me in the face. And, ah, I started screaming for help, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe. Then he started taking my head..
DETECTIVE: Are you still standing at this point?
ZIMMERMAN: No
DETECTIVE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: I fell to the ground when he punched me the first time.
And that explains how Zimmerman was
not on the sidewalk that led to his car when he found Trayvon Martin. Travyon Martins body was found approximately 45 feet south of the sidewalk that led to Zimmerman's car and if Zimmerman fell down as soon as he was punched, there is no way Zimmerman was on the sidewalk that led to his car when Trayvon allegedly "jumped out behind bushes" when Zimmerman walked passed.
EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT 9, 10 and 11:
(Detectives told Zimmerman he had no authority to monitor Trayvon Martin that night. Sanford Police Department did not authorize Zimmerman to "follow" Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman wrote that 911 Dispatch told him not to follow Trayvon. Detectives told Zimmerman that Trayvon Martin had a right to defend himself against Zimmerman)
Sanford Police Department did not authorize Zimmerman to search for Trayvon once Trayvon started running away from him. In fact, SPD operator specifically told Zimmerman that SPD did not need Zimmerman to follow, or search for, Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman wrote in his written statement:
"The dispatcher told me not to follow the suspect & that an officer was in route."
~Excerpt from Zimmerman's written statement 2/26/2012
Detective Serino also told Zimmerman he had no authority to "stop" Trayvon.
DETECTIVE: you don’t have the authority to go ahead and do the stop legally. You follow, I mean.
ZIMMERMAN: Sure
DETECTIVE: You’re working under the color of an absolutely private citizen.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
DETECTIVE: And, but then again, we can make citizens’ arrests all day long. I mean, for felonies. Problem was that this child was not committing a felony at the time. He was just walking.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
Detective Serino interviewed George Zimmerman hours after he killed Trayvon Martin. Serino told Zimmerman that Trayvon Martin had every right to fear for his own life because of the manner Zimmerman was searching for and ultimately found Martin after Martin had already been running away from him.
SERINO
OK, so by not, were you, your job’s not to really to do anything at all when it comes to that kind of, it wasn’t your job to monitor him either. I mean, had that been done, and that’s, you know, and from our vantage point, you’ve had 2 opportunities to identify yourself as somebody who was actually not meaning to do him harm. Problem being, is that we’re visiting in his mind’s eye, which I can’t get into because he’s passed, that he perceives you as a threat. OK, he perceives you as a threat, he has every right to go and defend himself, especially when you reach into your pocket to grab a cell phone. OK, where I’m gravitating to here is to say that I guess that, this, could that have been a possibility for him getting so enraged at you? What do you think his mindset was? I’m telling you right now, the kid has no violent background, no violent tendencies that we can find, um, what made him snap? He’s not on drugs, um, can you fill in that blank?
The detective told Zimmerman it was not Zimmerman's job to "monitor" Martin and by that I take "monitoring" to mean: following and/or searching for Martin so as to keep an eye on Martin on behalf of the SPD after Martin was "running" away from Zimmerman.
Also, what I find equally important is that Detective Serino told Zimmerman that Martin had every right to defend himself against Zimmerman because Zimmerman's overt acts that constituted a clear physical threat to Trayvon. The Detective described two of Zimmerman's overt acts that constituted a clear physical threat to Trayvon: Finding Trayvon, after searching for him, without identifying himself as a concerned neighbor "somebody who was actually not meaning to do him harm" and reaching into his pocket to "get his cell phone out."
EVIDENCE SUPPORTING 12 and 13
(Zimmerman thought of Trayvon as "the suspect" and admits his firearm was exposed for Trayvon to see.)
"Tonight, I was on my way to the grocery store when I saw a male approximately 5'11" to 6'2" casually walking in the rain looking into homes. I pulled my vehicle over and called SPD non-emergency phone number. I told the dispatcher what I had witnessed, the dispatcher took note of my location. The suspect fled to a darkened area of the sidewalk, as the dispatcher was asking me for an exact location the suspect emerged from the darkness & circled my vehicle. I could not hear if he said anything."
The suspect once again disappeared between some houses. The dispatcher asked me again for my exact location I could not remember the name of the street so I got out of my car to look for a street sign. The dispatcher asked me for a description and direction the suspect went. I told the dispatcher I did not know but I was out of my car looking for a street sign and the direction the suspect went.
"The dispatcher told me not to follow the suspect & that an officer was in route.
As I headed back to my vehicle the suspect emerged from the darkness and said 'you got a problem' I said 'no' the suspect said 'you do now. As I looked to find my phone to dial 911, the suspect punched me in the face.
I fell backwards onto my back. The suspect got on top of me. I yelled 'Help' several times. The suspect told me 'shut the (expletive) up' as I tried to sit up right, the suspect grabbed my head and slammed it into the concrete sidewalk several times," Zimmerman wrote. "I continued to yell 'Help.' Each time I attempted to sit up, the suspect slammed my head into the sidewalk. My head felt like it was going to explode."
I tried to slide out from under the suspect and continued to yell for help but the suspect covered my mouth and nose and stopped my breathing.
"At this point I felt the suspect reach for my now exposed firearm and say 'Your [sic] gonna die tonight mother (expletive),'" Zimmerman wrote. "I unholstered my firearm in fear for my life as he had assured he was going to kill me and fired one shot into his torso. The suspect sat back allowing me to sit up and said 'you got me.'"
At this point I slid out from underneath him and got on top of the susperct and held his hands away from his body. An onlooker appeared to ask if he was OK. I said "no" He said "I'm calling 911" I said I don't need you to call 911, I already did that, "I need you help me restrain this guy,'"
~Zimmerman's written statement on 2/26/2012
George Zimmerman did not simply get out of his car to stroll around and 'oops' somehow merely end up 'following' and 'finding' Martin. No, in Zimmerman's state-of-mind, that night, he willingly, knowingly and with forethought decided to search for the "unarmed, asshole, teenage, punk" who he thought was "the suspect" who "vandalizes neighborhoods" and needed to be "restrained" even after Zimmerman killed him.
The very second the "asshole" started "running" away, Zimmerman immediately grabbed two flashlights to search for the "unarmed, asshole, teenage, punk, suspect" who "vandalizes neighborhoods" and who that dared to run away from the man who had been following him by car.
Zimmerman, his brother, and his lawyer keep telling us that we "don't see the same Trayvon 'George saw' that night" and they are spot on, we don't, or at least, I don't. The Trayvon 'I see' of that night is the same Trayvon that Detective Serino saw, a "child was not committing a felony at the time. He was just walking."
Whereas, that night, before, during and after Zimmerman found Martin, in Zimmerman's depraved mind that night, 'George saw' an "unarmed, asshole, teenage, punk, suspect" who "vandalizes neighborhoods" and who was "running away" from him. Zimmerman was angry Martin over imagined slight and he searched for Martin with revenge and malice.
I have no idea how a jury will come down on this case, after all it is Florida where somehow a jury acquitted Casey Anthony. But, to me, just looking at this evidence alone shows Zimmerman searched for and killed Trayvon Martin out of malice.
In short, I think Martin's actions show he was trying to avoid a confrontation whereas Zimmerman actions show he provoked a conflict and created the circumstances that directly lead to his use of deadly force against Martin. I think Zimmerman exacerbated the circumstances that lead to his use of deadly force against Martin by not identifying himself and by reaching into the right front and back pants pocket to get his 'cell phone' (that was not even there) when he found Trayvon. Therefore, I think just this evidence alone shows Zimmerman's willful actions were imminently dangerous to Trayvon as Zimmerman searched for Trayvon with a depraved mind regardless of human life -- which all together is Murder in the Second Degree.
