Listen to Ross and Burbank weekdays on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM
 Ross+Burbank


Standing your ground

March 20, 2012 @ 8:59 am (Updated: 9:07 am - 3/20/12 )

Listen to Dave Ross Commentary: Standing your ground

A grand jury is now going to investigate the shooting of that unarmed teenager last month in a gated community in Sanford Florida.

911 dispatcher: What is your--

Caller: There's gunshots.

-sound of gunshots-

911 dispatcher: You just heard gunshots?

That was the sound of a self-appointed neighborhood watcher named George Zimmerman, shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who is black.

martin

He claimed self-defense and the local police decided not to arrest him -- which is why the boy's family demanded a federal investigation.

But the feds can't punish Zimmerman for the boy's death. They can only punish him if they find he was deliberately targeting blacks. So they'll be examining the numerous calls he's made to the cops when he's seen suspicious people -- like this call:

911 dispatcher: What do they look like? Are they white, black or hispanic?

Zimmerman: Black males. Two black males in their late teens.

But does that indicate prejudice? Or is it just a description?
As for the shooting itself, under Florida's Stand Your Ground law all a defendant has to do is provide facts to show "his resort to force could have been reasonable."

Which is exactly what Zimmerman did in the minutes before he fired:

Zimmerman: Now he's coming towards me. He's got his hand in his waistband.

A it turned out all the kid had was Skittles, Ice Tea and a cell phone, which according to one report he was using to tell his girlfriend this strange man was following him.

In fact, under Florida's law, Trayvon Martin might have been able to make a case for standing HIS ground. He might have been justified in drawing his gun. But being 17, he wasn't legally allowed to carry one.

Subscribe to the Dave Ross Commentary podcast

More Ross and Burbank

MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (73)


  • Add A Comment

  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    whipping up the mob...against a guy in Florida? Why?
    March 20, 2012 8:42 am
    How about that latest Fast and Furious document dump released by the LA Times? How many innocent Mexicans were murdered in this evil and criminal plot? Why would Holder free the top suspect in the scheme and allow him to disappear into Mexico to kill more after they had him in custody? He must really hate Mexicans or maybe he just doesn't care how many of them are murdered. Of course, this single death in Florida will distract all state run media attention from the crime and they can also use it to further Holder's "brainwashing" campaign against the Constitution.

    Atta boy Dave, whip up the mob....you a good little soldier.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TheSymbolForBoron wrote...
    Sounds like the Kersey Conspiracy Mob is already whipped up
    March 20, 2012 8:59 am
    Sounds like George Zimmerman was the brainwashed one. Probably just one of those paranoid 'Skittles' haters. (Like Kersey).

    But let's ignore this and focus on Eric Holder's sinister desire to brainwash everyone in America to give up their guns. It's the next, calculated step towards black world domination. Paul, I knew there had to be a good reason that you were storing so many jars of your own urine. You nailed it!

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    kersey
    March 20, 2012 9:06 am
    way to stay on topic. Why not take this time to talk about the Greek debt ?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    no thanks ron...
    March 20, 2012 2:09 pm
    I'd rather talk about how we're getting "Greeked". You can involve yourself in this distraction all you want, I won't interrupt your meaningless muttering.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    Nothing to see here
    March 20, 2012 9:01 am

    Just another patriotic american removing the stain from American society.

    They will probably throw a parade for Mr. Zimmerman and recieve a accomodation from the police department for his heroic work as as an patriotic american.

    that kid should have kissed the man's feet and asked his permission to walk up and down the street to his dads home.

    If it ain't White, it can't be right in certain neighborhoods, therefore you must kill first and ask questions later.

    I solum my lakum.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    are arrests required ?
    March 20, 2012 9:01 am
    Referencing in our own state with the Snohomish man who just shot his cancer dying wife. Prosecutor Mark Roe stated they have..."broad discretion to charge or not charge a case"... - Apparently Florida thinks the same way. . But what is compassion in one case becomes complete stupidity in the other. .Just because Florida has a 'stand your ground' rule (and why is that even necessary - to say self defense TWICE), dues NOT mean police were FORBIDDEN from arresting Zimmerman. Nor is any judge required to through out his case, if tried. What the self defense law does say is that his resort to force COULD have been reasonable. .....It is NOT a free pass to kill anyone you want and automatically get off for 'self defense'. ...........While we do know that Trayvon Martin was black, I see nothing, as yet, as to if Zimmerman is white, black of purple. Not that it makes a difference except to those who want to see racism in every inhumanity. .. Arresting Zimmerman, and trying him IS allowed. Let him try 'stand his ground' as a defense at trial, but don't assume. .. I would say investigate the Sanford, Florida PD for NOT following the law. )
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Seattle Dad wrote...
    Tragic? Yes
    March 20, 2012 10:11 am
    Racist or incompetent? Hard to say given the lack of information. Could use some other witnesses. The phonecall is not racist at all. You get to describe a person's skin color. That's not racist Dave. Was this guy paranoid? Had he been assaulted in the past? Did the kid act agressively? Did he say he had a gun to scare the guy off from following him? We can't make any rational judgements based on the fact that a black young man was killed by a Latino middle aged man with a gun. If this young man was white, would you be discussing it? Probably not.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TheSymbolForBoron wrote...
    As long as the kid wasn't a fetus, 'Dad' is pretty laid back about it.
    March 20, 2012 11:42 am
    Sanctity of all human life and all that.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    "He's reaching into his waistband, and he's a black male!" (said Zimmerman)
    March 20, 2012 10:26 am
    Two victims here.

    An innocent kid who did nothing wrong and was shot down by Zimmerman. May he rest is peace.

    Zimmerman, a man of Hispanic descent, who has been so poisoned by the rhetoric of fear and hatred that the very sight of a "black male" reaching for anything in his pants makes him (he claims) fearful for his life.

    May God intervene in the lives of those who spread this fearful, hateful, ignorant, concept that you can judge the content of a person's heart and the predict his thoughts and actions based on the color of his skin. Along with Zimmerman, who obviously made a racist choice, all who believe that a person's free will is less a factor in behavior than ethnicity are guilty here.

    And the Florida cops aren't pressing charges because Zimmerman had a good case for "self defense"? Maybe he should be less concerned about what "black males" have in their pants and not feel threatened until somebody at least displays a weapon.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    Let's get the facts.straight
    March 20, 2012 10:27 am

    George Zimmerman (not a mexican name) is actually white and mexican (pops married the maid).

    Zimmerman had been arrested in 2005 on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on an officer, though these charges were later dropped. Police also failed to give him a drug or alcohol test, part of standard police procedure.

    The Miami Herald reports that Zimmerman called police 46 times between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26, the night of the shooting, with alerts while on patrol. Almost all those calls involved sightings of black males within the mostly white, gated community.

    Recent claims by witnesses that their police interviews were cursory (a charge the Sanford police department vehemently denies) fuel speculation that Zimmerman is being shielded from justice in an area with a history of racial tension.

    In 2011, former Sanford Police Chief Brian Tooley resigned after a YouTube video showed his 21-year-old son attacking a homeless black man. In 2005, two white security guards, one of them also the son of a Sanford police officer, shot and killed 16-year-old Travares McGill.

    Sanford's black community remains unconvinced. One of the witnesses in the Florida shooting, a 13-year-old black boy who shall remain anonymous, recorded a video for the Orlando Sentinel detailing what he heard and saw.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    SPD recruit ?
    March 20, 2012 12:56 pm
    Quick to shoot. And almost nothing will cause him to fear for his life?. Punk security calling real police so often ?.....This guy is a cop wanabe. He might have had a job with Seattle PD drunk patrol, except Officer Ian 'drop the knife, after I shoot' went too far over the line. ..........And I really hate to see these things always revert back to race. Sanford's black community is rightly concerned, but so should be everyone.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Drool wrote...
    "Stand Your Ground"
    March 20, 2012 10:28 am
    Does not mean pursue. As soon as Zimmerman was told not to pursue by law enforcement but does anyway...thus picking a fight, he should lose any excuse that it was self defense.

    There is no self defense instructor on the planet that would advocate the behavior Zimmerman demonstrated.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AceBass wrote...
    I will not judge without the facts.
    March 20, 2012 10:39 am
    I would like to see this murder investigated. Any time one human being murders another then an investigation of the facts must take place. I hope that is what is happening here with this case as well. An investigation, open for all to see, into the facts. If there is sufficient reason to believe an unjustified homicide happened then let the law take its due course.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Mr Long wrote...
    Self Defense?
    March 20, 2012 11:05 am
    Let's all be honest about this. If you were out at night and saw a black man reaching for anything hidden, would you wait or shoot? I am shooting.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    Mr Long
    March 20, 2012 11:20 am

    This is probably a stupid question, but WHY? I have to reach for stuff in my pocket all the time, should I be in fear of my life if I am around you and/or a white person and have to reach into my pocket's?

    Being from the hood, I have run across people that look shady and had to cross path with them (white, black, hispanic, asian decent etc, especially a white guy with short hair and a bunch of tatoo's that might look like a skin head, only time I have feared for my life is when I put myself in a bad situation, I have never followed a skin head to only feel like I feared for my life, If I ever choose to follow a skinhead armed with a weapon, there is absolutely no fear if I choose to follow them.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Mr Long writes, (essentially) "If I saw a black man reaching for anything hidden, I would shoot him!"
    March 20, 2012 11:44 am
    The scary thing is, he's probably serious.

    Get enough guys like Mr. Long on the jury (*if* Zimmerman is ever charged with anything down in FL), and before you know it the black kid's family will have to pay the white killer a civil settlement for "defamation of character". :-(

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    yaa, sportsguru he wanna get da facts straight...
    March 20, 2012 1:59 pm
    dey aint no Zimmermans in Mexico...dat Jew's ol man he screw da maid.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TheSymbolForBoron wrote...
    Eau de Kersey
    March 20, 2012 4:45 pm
    You just have to bet that Kersey (too scared to use his real name) reeks of cigarettes, BO and cheap cologne. Most days, his teeth stay in the glass by his cot as he wanders around his squalor in his filthy bath robe -- most days he doesn't bother to change out of his pajamas.

    Hey Paul, after hearing this story, did you run out and volunteer for the night shift on your neighborhood watch?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }