# Time to officially Pit the Sanford Police Dept and their cover-up. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 29, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108 "2012-03-29T01:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/61 "2012-03-29T15:07:26Z")
> [@artemis](#): > > How many homicides would the police department of a town that size be dealing with every year? I couldn’t find homicides, but what was classified as [murders](http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Sanford-Florida.html) show 3 last year, and 3 the year before. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/62 "2012-03-29T15:08:51Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Um, wow. I’ll give you an opportunity to take that back before completely changing my opinion of you. Nothing I have said justifies that. Your “role” in this threads is ridiculous. Here we have some lunatic with a gun who follows, harasses, then shoots dead some kid armed with candy and tea, and his defense was the kid started the brawl then broke his nose, which smacked of bullshit from day one, and now we see an unscathed, unbruised, unbloodied “victim,” after the brawl and your response is… “Well if something completely different were the case, you guys still would… umm… yeah, jerks!” The fuck is that shit? Why are you so married to the idea of picking a fight with people who think Zimmy is a murderer? What is the point of your baseless hypothetical? What are you trying to get them to see? That if things were different, they should feel differently? Got it. I await the next hate crime, so that you can chime in and tell us if an entirely different scenario were to have taken place, our current views on the matter would be misplaced. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/63 "2012-03-29T15:10:19Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Shit, I didn’t think it was possible to over-do it when it comes to **RR**. Now somebody will have to defend him! It’s **Vinny’s** turn. I’m pretty sure about that. You’re right, I don’t think **Rand Rover** would advocate for black-baby-burning. He’d question the motives of those who condemn it, attempt to pick holes in the narrative, and when anyone dares suggest he appears to be siding with the baby-burners, feign innocence and demand “proof.” Totally different. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/64 "2012-03-29T15:11:32Z")
Heh, Vin. Right. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/65 "2012-03-29T15:29:05Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Shit, I didn’t think it was possible to over-do it when it comes to **RR**. Now somebody will have to defend him! It’s **Vinny’s** turn. I’m pretty sure about that. Look, it was supposed to be my turn a while ago, but when he started threatening to track down my mother and my daughter and have sex with them, just because I disagreed with him on a message board… I got a pass. I really do have a pass, signed by Ed and Tuba. It’s laminated. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/66 "2012-03-29T15:29:31Z")
Apparently there were no signs of injury to Martin’s hands per the funeral director - [http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/03/28/funeral-director-saw-no-signs-fight-trayvons-hands](http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/03/28/funeral-director-saw-no-signs-fight-trayvons-hands) How does one beat someone up to the point of feeling threatened with death and have nothing to show on his hands? hmm. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/67 "2012-03-29T15:35:08Z")
How do we know Trayvon wasn’t wearing brass knuckles that flew off and were carried away by a Bichon Frise? Are you saying Zimmerman should be imprisoned because someone else failed to leash their dog? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/68 "2012-03-29T15:36:29Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Your “role” in this threads is ridiculous. Here we have some lunatic with a gun who follows, harasses, then shoots dead some kid armed with candy and tea, and his defense was the kid started the brawl then broke his nose, which smacked of bullshit from day one, and now we see an unscathed, unbruised, unbloodied “victim,” after the brawl and your response is… “Well if something completely different were the case, you guys still would… umm… yeah, jerks!” The fuck is that shit? Why are you so married to the idea of picking a fight with people who think Zimmy is a murderer? What is the point of your baseless hypothetical? > > What are you trying to get them to see? That if things were different, they should feel differently? Got it. I await the next hate crime, so that you can chime in and tell us if an entirely different scenario were to have taken place, our current views on the matter would be misplaced. My role in these threads is to fight ignorance. Such as the ignorance you display in this post by coming up with your own narrative of the situation based only on the facts that have been reported and your own inference and supposition. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/69 "2012-03-29T15:41:23Z")
Don’t most people see this in shades of gray? Yes, there are people on this board who have shouted “guilty, guilty guilty” of Zimmerman and many support that, but don’t you want to wait, get the full story? Not all of us are **Rand Rover** either. I’m not sure how it happened. But, I support innocent until proven guilty, that is for sure. Our legal system might be messed, up, but I still think it is the best in the world. With this much scrutiny, the truth will out in the end, but leaping at every news report that supports your position as true and factual and ignoring those against your position is silly. The media keeps throwing chum out and to get more attention they all throw a bit of a different spin. Almost all of us are basing our opinions on what the media has reported–not what the actual facts are. And, we have seen it here, the media can be wrong sometimes. What does it hurt to wait as long as there is a very thorough investigation? If you thought there was a cover-up, fine, but now every miniscule detail will be opened up, and the investigation will have to be as detailed as it can be. Why rush to judgment? And, I didn’t see it linked here, but **brazil84** posted it in the other thread: [http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/29/police-surveillance-video-of-zimmerman-may-show-head-injury/](http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/29/police-surveillance-video-of-zimmerman-may-show-head-injury/) That might be an injury to his head. Let’s wait and see. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/70 "2012-03-29T15:41:24Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Such as the ignorance you display in this post by coming up with your own narrative of the situation based only on the facts that have been reported… LOL, my bad. Carry on, Truth Seeker. > [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Don’t most people see this in shades of gray? Yes, there are people on this board who have shouted “guilty, guilty guilty” of Zimmerman and many support that, but don’t you want to wait, get the full story? Not all of us are **Rand Rover** either. I’m not sure how it happened. Sure, fair enough. The way things appear now, Zimmy is a flat out murderer and liar. If new, contradictory evidence presents itself, I will adjust my opinion accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/71 "2012-03-29T15:44:48Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > My role in these threads is to fight ignorance. Such as the ignorance you display in this post by coming up with your own narrative of the situation based only on the facts that have been reported and your own inference and supposition. Yeah! What are you doing, making judgments based on the facts that have been reported? What about all the facts that HAVEN’T been reported? Huh? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/72 "2012-03-29T15:45:46Z")
A gem from a (hopefully former) New Orleans police officer:[ > [@](#): > > Jason Giroir, the officer, is under investigation after comments were posted on a story about a local rally for Martin published on the WWL-TV website. > “Act like a Thug Die like one!” one comment reads. > Later, Giroir—who identified himself as “Works at NOPD”—responded to another commenter who claimed the initial comment was racially insensitive: “Eddie come on down to our town with a ‘Hoodie’ and you can join Martin in HELL and talk about your racist stories!:-P” ]([New Orleans police officer suspended over online comments about Trayvon Martin](http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/orleans-police-officer-suspended-over-online-comments-trayvon-215328497.html))An interesting footer in the story > [@](#): > > Giroir had already been assigned to desk duty for his involvement in a traffic stop that ended in a shootout. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/73 "2012-03-29T15:48:24Z")
It seems to be that your role is to simply assert that noone is allowed to have or form an opinion, regardless of what facts come out. We aren’t all going to be jurors on this case, if there ever is a trial, so why are we not allowed to have an opinion? Why do you seem so personally offended if someone thinks Zimmerman acted stupidly and inappropriately which directly resulted in the unnecessary death of a young man that appears to have done nothing wrong to lead to the incident. What about the video? What about the statement by the funeral director that Martin had no injuries to his hands? When these facts come out, why are we not allowed to have an opinion about them? You seem to be taking this far too personally for someone who is claiming to be above the fray and keeping an open mind. Reacting so strongly to the opinions of others usually indicates a strong opinion on your own part, no? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/74 "2012-03-29T15:54:18Z")
But srsly, Rands, how are you fighting ignorance by informing us that if the facts presented were different, we should have a different view? The facts aren’t different. As they are, what is so unreasonable about our opinions? Anything? Or are you still mad that if they were, we shouldn’t think what we do? ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/75 "2012-03-29T15:56:12Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > But, I support innocent until proven guilty, that is for sure. Our legal system might be messed, up, but I still think it is the best in the world. Good news, then: Zimmerman has not been convicted. If he is, it will not be by a message board. I don’t live in the state of Florida, so I’m not eligible to sit on any jury that’s empaneled to judge whether he should lose his freedom. To have no opinion on the matter is to be an idiot, or pretend to be one in order conceal one’s own prejudices. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/76 "2012-03-29T16:01:16Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Is it just me, or does this tragedy have almost every single criminal law cliche in it? Profiled black teenager, check. Wannabe police officer, check. Public howling for blood, double check. Backlash against the prevailing opinion, check. Arresting officer overruled by the district attorney. Law enforcement ties to the accused. Cover-up allegations. Am I missing anything? The Illuminati and Kaiser Soze? ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/77 "2012-03-29T16:07:27Z")
Sure, have an opinion, but if truly objective we all know this whole thing is a mess and until the media sorts more stuff out it is going to be like ping pong. I am more interested in truth, and we haven’t even read the witness statements. There are facts out there that are crucial to a reasonable opinion. A lot of them. I want to see tangible measurements of angle of entry. I want to see autopsy photos, I want to see the EMS records from the fire department. Then, at least I am doing somewhat of a service to the truth with my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/78 "2012-03-29T16:10:37Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Sure, have an opinion, but if truly objective we all know this whole thing is a mess and until the media sorts more stuff out it is going to be like ping pong. > > I am more interested in truth, and we haven’t even read the witness statements. There are facts out there that are crucial to a reasonable opinion. A lot of them. I want to see tangible measurements of angle of entry. I want to see autopsy photos, I want to see the EMS records from the fire department. Then, at least I am doing somewhat of a service to the truth with my opinion. Are you an idiot? Or do you just feel the need to make a half a dozen posts saying nothing but “I don’t know”? There will never be enough information to establish the metaphysical certitude you’re looking for. Why would you require that, in this particular case? ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/79 "2012-03-29T16:12:18Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Sure, have an opinion, but if truly objective we all know this whole thing is a mess and until the media sorts more stuff out it is going to be like ping pong. > > I am more interested in truth, and we haven’t even read the witness statements. There are facts out there that are crucial to a reasonable opinion. A lot of them. I want to see tangible measurements of angle of entry. I want to see autopsy photos, I want to see the EMS records from the fire department. Then, at least I am doing somewhat of a service to the truth with my opinion. You might want to wait for the media to sort it out. Me, I prefer the courts sort it out. I have no need of seeing all that data. With it, my opinion will still just be my opinion. Somewhat more informed, but still meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108/80 "2012-03-29T16:15:40Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > [QUOTE=BottledBlondJeanie] > But, I support innocent until proven guilty, that is for sure. Our legal system might be messed, up, but I still think it is the best in the world. Good news, then: Zimmerman has not been convicted. If he is, it will not be by a message board. [/QUOTE] I love this post. I want to hug it and tell it it’s pretty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-officially-pit-the-sanford-police-dept-and-their-cover-up/617108.md?page=5)