TCTI: Too Crazy Too Ignore
 Dave Ross

The evidence will clear it right up -- or will it?

May 16, 2012 @ 8:20 am (Updated: 8:22 am - 5/16/12 )

cedargrove
The shooting case involving Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman may be one of those cases where the more evidence you get -- the LESS clear it becomes. (AP Photo)

Ever since that shot on February 26 in Sanford Florida, George Zimmerman has claimed he was defending himself against Trayvon Martin, who may have been ten years younger, but was also about six inches taller.

His story was met with considerable doubt, since he's on tape telling a 911 operator he was chasing Martin, despite being advised not to.

We yearn for more evidence to clear this up -- and now we have it.

A few days after the prosecution turned over its evidence to Zimmerman's defense team, some of that evidence has started to leak.

And it shows that the day after the shooting, a family doctor found Zimmerman had suffered a broken nose, two black eyes, and two cuts on the back of his head.

While a separate report shows that Trayvon Martin had two injuries: the fatal gunshot wound, and scraped knuckles. The implication being that he scraped those knuckles in the process of breaking George Zimmerman's nose.

So what does this tell us?

It certainly tells us who was getting the worst of the fight at the time the shot was fired.

But the real question is did Trayvon Martin somehow deserve to get shot?

Zimmerman claims he broke off his chase and Martin circled back and started throwing punches against a guy who was no threat to him.

But wait a second. Trayvon Martin is DEAD. So can you argue that Zimmerman who was armed and moments earlier was running after him, wasn't a threat?

This may be one of those cases where the more evidence you get -- the LESS clear it becomes.

More Dave Ross

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Comments (94)


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  • kata wrote...
    The "press" worries that these things shouldn't be tried in the press
    May 16, 2012 7:42 am
    and yet, they still keep on trying...

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  • Fixit wrote...
    and trying
    May 16, 2012 7:45 am
    and trying some more...
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  • hnuh wrote...
    05-16-2012 The evidence...
    May 16, 2012 7:44 am
    Clearly Dave wishes to follow the media narrative of the "white hispanic" who killed the innocent twelve year old boy... your bias is evident in both the pictures you use and the next to last paragraph. Rather than allow the case to proceed with 'innocent until proven guilty' as a guide, you make conclusions based on your own innate bigotry, and, provide them to us as though they are some kind of insight.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Seems I also heard this AM on KIRO that Zimmerman waited
    May 16, 2012 7:56 am
    until the next day to see his family doctor to get treatment. Hardly seems 'life threatening', but that's after the fact. .. Sorry, Dave, but we SHOULD NOT get 'the evidence', at least until a jury has been seated. ... I know, I know - defense teams use leaking 'evidence' all the time. But it still should wait for the trial. ........................ What is becoming clearer and clearer is that stupidity reigned that night. Unless Trayvon somehow failed to see the gun, why attack an older gunman with just your fists ? But, of course, he was only 17. ............... And George, who HAS the gun, panics thinking he's going to die than a kid he out weighs by 100 lbs punches him ? Hadn't HE ever been in a fist fight ? .. And did he ever actually get training to use a gun ? .................... We shall see. But above all let's hope, as we move into a trial, that race can keep its head away from justice.
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  • GloScot wrote...
    George had training
    May 16, 2012 8:20 am
    George reportedly intiially bought the gun to protect himself and received training, too: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/04/why-george-zimmerman-got-gun/51579/ I have tried to place myself in this situation. I have known plenty of stupid people who will act before thinking. It's not unreasonable to think that a kid (or anyone for that matter) would attack someone without knowing what's possibly awaiting them. Don't we read often that some dummy breaks into a home and gets shot by the homeowner? Don't they think that the homeowner could be armed? Obviously not. Based on what we know, George should never have gone after Trayvon and clearly ignored the dispatcher telling him not to go. After that, we don't know all what happened. The evidence shows both people were engaged in a fight. And at that point, I don't think either of them cared who was black or Latino. I agree, though, Ron, this trying the guy in the media has done nothing but foment hatred. And the ONLY outcome that is acceptable to those who have made this an issue of race and have tried and convicted George in the press, regardless of any facts -- even the ones that came out today, is that George is convicted and put away. And that isn't justice, either.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    @ GloScot --
    May 16, 2012 9:30 am
    First - a sane response. Not many expected on this subject. .. I usually hate those web site references as too much a bother, but I went to theatlanticwire.com .................. Unfortunately two things bother me about Zimmerman's reasoning. He got the gun for a PIT BULL and wanted a stop quicker than pepper spray. And, while the article does state he "completed handgun training..'.., it doesn't say training by who. Possibly, by the animal control officer who advised a gun for a dog ? ......................... None the less, that's what trials are for.
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  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    Keep hate alive...
    May 16, 2012 8:12 am
    When is Geraldo's march for White Jew Hispanics planned?
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    If I were on the jury, I would be very interested to learn
    May 16, 2012 8:12 am
    why the body was found so far from the truck. If Zimmerman had returned to his truck (as his version goes) and if he was afraid of Martin, why didn't he jump into the truck and lock the door? That would seem like a natural thing a person standing by a truck and in fear of his life (justifying "stand your ground") would do- at least to me.

    Zimmerman may have an explanation for the location of the body so far from the truck. The evidence on scene apparently confirms that the fatal shot was fired where the body was found- not near the truck.

    Zimmerman deserves a fair trial. The family of Martin deserve justice. Regardless of the verdict- if Zimmerman gets his fair trial then the Martin family will have justice.

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  • deltta wrote...
    Since your the expert chuck
    May 16, 2012 9:20 am
    What is the radius of the magic circle surrounding my truck? You should look at the "stand your ground law" in Fla.It says nothing about hiding in your truck.Gasbag
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  • Drool wrote...
    deltta
    May 16, 2012 9:32 am
    Look here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/04/02/us/the-events-leading-to-the-shooting-of-trayvon-martin.html and tell me how close to the truck Zimmerman was. ZOmmerman clearly inserted himself into the situation.
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  • deltta wrote...
    Well, i'm glad the NYT was able to clear all this up
    May 16, 2012 9:50 am
    good thing we'll all be able to watch this stuff while going into the election
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Delta, Stand Your Ground doesn't say you have to be standing by your truck.....
    May 16, 2012 9:40 am
    but *Zimmerman* claimed he had returned to his truck when he was "attacked" by Martin.

    What's at question here is really whether Zimmerman is telling the truth, not how the Stand Your Ground Law reads. If Zimmerman was pursuing Martin and seeking a confrontation, that weakens his "stand your ground" defense- it makes him the armed aggressor in a fight that ended with Martin dead.

    Like I said, if I were on the jury I would want to know why the body of Martin was found so far from the truck, and would then compare that to Zimmerman's version of events.

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  • deltta wrote...
    Returned or was returning?
    May 16, 2012 9:51 am
    I honestly don't know which word Zimmerman used. Those words have two different meanings, right chuck?
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  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    As George's Uncle Bob once said...
    May 16, 2012 8:21 am
    don’t speak too soon

    For the wheel’s still in spin

    And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’

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  • Glover W wrote...
    Nice photo DAVE!
    May 16, 2012 8:44 am
    Good for Dave Ross. Show the photo of Travon Martin that is years out of date and show the mug shot of George Zimmerman. Way to be "Un-biased" here.
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  • HockeyMom wrote...
    Photos used
    May 16, 2012 11:11 am
    I agree that it is a bit frustrating that an out of date photo is being used, but KIRO is certainly not alone on this. Seems like every news site you look at has that same photo of Martin used.
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  • Oly80 wrote...
    actually...
    May 16, 2012 12:56 pm
    that's one of my biggest grips, too! why do they only show the pictures of him looking like he couldn't be much older than, like, 12? he was 17! are there any RECENT pictures of him?
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  • SeattleNative wrote...
    @Chuck
    May 16, 2012 9:07 am
    So are you now willing to concede that perhaps Zimmerman was defending himself. I mean, since you were so quick to determine he was guilty of murder and all.

    Nowhere have I read that Zimmerman was "near" his truck...whatever "near" means...but that he was on his way back to his truck, when Martin attacked him.

    There were multiple witnesses listed on the police report. There must have been some reason the police didn't initially arrest Zimmerman. So why is it that he WAS arrested weeks later??? Could it have been the race-baiting press that pressured the police/prosecutor into it? The press, that continues (to this day) to show Martin as a 12 year old (or younger) boy?

    BTW ron prevost: Zimmerman was 5'8" and approx. 185 lbs at the time of the shooting, vs Martin's 6' and approx. 160 lbs.

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  • Drool wrote...
    How "near" is this?
    May 16, 2012 9:33 am
    http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/04/02/us/the-events-leading-to-the-shooting-of-trayvon-martin.html

    The scene of the shooting is a pedestrian pathway...not a road.

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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Native, I think it's almost certain there was a fight before the gunshot...
    May 16, 2012 9:47 am
    The question then becomes "Who provoked the fight?" Was Zimmerman just minding his own business, or did he choose to confront Martin with a gun? Did Martin put up a scuffle and try to escape? Most likely. That's what I would do if some strange guy, definitely not a cop, accosted me with a gun in the middle of the night.

    Native- the chief homicide detective on the scene, the person with the most expertise in evaluating the evidence and with the best access to the evidence, filed an affidavit with the prosecuting attorney stating that he "did not believe" Zimmerman's version of the events. That's a matter of public record.

    A trial is clearly warranted. Zimmerman freely admits killing Martin, the only issue to be decided is whether the killing was justified under Florida law. If Zimmerman provoked the fight that resulted in him then "fearing for his life", that's probably outside the scope of a "Stand Your Ground" defense.

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  • deltta wrote...
    That's what I would do if some strange guy, definitely not a cop, accosted me with a gun in the middle of the night.
    May 16, 2012 9:57 am
    I didn't know Zimmerman had deployed his handgun before the fight startd
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    @ SeattleNative
    May 16, 2012 9:51 am
    Initial reports were 6'2" & 140lbs ve 250lbs. .. But the point is not the size difference, but a similar lack of thinking. .. I'm sure EACH though he was right.
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  • deltta wrote...
    How about a current photo?
    May 16, 2012 9:13 am
    anyone have a current photo of poor little Tre'
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  • vanderleun wrote...
    "But the real question is did Trayvon Martin somehow deserve to get shot?"
    May 16, 2012 9:15 am
    How about you let somebody sit on top of you, pound on your face, hammer your head into the sidewalk, and then ask that question of yourself?
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