I watched a whole bunch of the Police Interrogation at the Station as well as when they walked GZ thru the location of the incident. He first followed the kid in his car. He then followed the kid on foot. He had plenty of opportunity to identify himself as Neighborhood Watch Captain and why he was following TM. But he chose not to. So he was basically stalking the kid. As per the police telling him not to follow, the words were "We don't need you to do that" which as a Watch Person, who already called the cops should have known better. Now, I also watched the original video that got removed from this thread where we were given a pretty good history of both guys. So maybe that particular night, TM was not being a thug or doing anything wrong, but in general, he was a thug in my opinion. Did he deserve to die that night? No, I don't think so but he also handled the situation wrong. Was GZ taking a beating, yes and a deserved one for all his mistakes. I highly doubt that TM was in the process of killing him right there in front of people watching out the window and family a few houses away. I may have reacted similar if I was being stalked and followed by someone who should have identified himself when TM walked past his car and gestured to him. GZ should have taken his beating and then filed a complaint the proper way.
Much of what he says in the police interviews does not seem quite right. How he was savy enough to pull his gun from behind his back and worry about shooting his own hand, then shoot the kid in the heart while TM was on top of him, but none of TM's blood got on him. He then says he rolled TM off of him, which in anyones view, would have placed TM on his back. But GZ says he rolled him on to his stomach and spread his arms out wide. That does not jive with things the way they were found. GZ also used the excuse that he has a really bad memory when asked about inconsistencies or details. But his memory as to how to handle a loaded gun, with no safety, and not secured in the holster was spot on.
So in the end, they never used the Stand Your Ground law. But that is the basis of the "Conversation" the country is having. The conversation is not about over zealous, wanabe cops who are frustrated because "they always get away". We have the Black Panthers with a bounty on GZ. Is that the way it should be dealt with?
Now on the flip side, the same types of situations have happened in the near past where a black man kills a young white boy and he walks. In Philly last year, a 7 foot black trooper hauls off and sucker punches a skinny little woman because he "thought" she threw something on him. It was all caught on tape but the judge decided that that was NOT enough evidence so he walked and got his job back with no repercussions. Had it been a white cop slugging a black woman, we would have Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson all over TV, just like the Twana Brawley case of a few years ago.
The real injustice is how the media used this case to distract from real and bigger issues the US has both here and abroad. The media is what keeps the racial lines divided and fuels the problems we have.
