# Why hasn't the Neighborhood Watch shooter been arrested? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504 "2012-03-12T00:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 115
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2281 "2012-03-29T02:21:55Z")
Can anyone address the question of why, if Zimmerman was never arrested, he arrived at the station in handcuffs? Do they do that to people who they “invite” into the station do do an interview/interrogation? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2282 "2012-03-29T02:25:04Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > A broken nose typically bleeds freely. I don’t see a trace of blood on his green tee shirt. He is wearing a **gray** tee shirt. Why do think it is green? The still picture is definitively gray. I read they took his cloths as evidence. Maybe none of those clothes are his. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2283 "2012-03-29T02:29:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I said as much. > > The police might have taken off his shirt for evidence and given him a replacement. It seems like his t-shirt is pixelated? > > Note they are also searching him. > > Other have said he wasn’t searched, wasn’t handcuffed and wasn’t treated like a suspect. All those are clearly false. They handcuffed him because there were witnesses there, and it would have been strange not to go through at least this motion. And police officers are just like everyone else. They operate by rote. They searched him because that’s SOP when you’re transporting someone in handcuffs. Anyway, this is kind of a strawman. The suspicion has always been on the leadership of this whole operation–the detective on up. Why would the police give him a spare t-shirt? A spare t-shirt, mind you, that fits him quite well. But even if this is what happened, a broken nose does not just dry up like that. The new shirt would have gotten some blood on it too. He doesn’t even have obvious blood on his face. I am relieved that you are at least conceding that Zimmerman may not be telling the truth. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2284 "2012-03-29T02:32:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The police might have taken off his shirt for evidence and given him a replacement… > Note they are also searching him. How likely is it they would be searching him after giving him a change of clothes? ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2285 "2012-03-29T02:33:59Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I think there was some question earlier about the position of Zimmerman’s truck. Here’s a picture I found: [Transfer Station: Image](http://transferstation.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/street-view-overhead1.jpg) His truck is ~200 feet away from where Martin was shot. A distance Martin took 2 minutes to cover, or a speed of about 1.15 miles per hour. You are really hung up on the 2 min thing, aren’t you? The truck’s placement in that pic is consistent with the idea that Zimmerman was driving in his truck during the last half of his 911 call. Once he lost sight of the kid while on foot on Retreat View, there was nothing stopping him from getting in his car and driving to Twin Trees. The 2 min only tells us how long Zimmerman was on the phone. It tells us nothing about what he was doing during that time. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2286 "2012-03-29T02:35:03Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Nothing about this is making much sense. It all pretty much makes perfect sense. Which everyone could see from the beginning. In order for it not to make sense, you have to live in a world where the cops drive around with full sets of well-fitting clothing to give you to drive you to the police station if you dirty yours up during the commission of a crime. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2287 "2012-03-29T02:35:15Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > How likely is it they would be searching him after giving him a change of clothes? It’s not a search, it’s a final fitting. They don’t want those new clothes to be anything but perfect! ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2288 "2012-03-29T02:36:45Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Also, I just googled “bald back of head” images, and here’s the fourth one that came up for me: [Another guy who got into a fight with Trayvon Martin, I guess.](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=bald+back+of+head&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1440&bih=769&tbm=isch&tbnid=1m_oiNuIcoOW7M:&imgrefurl=http://www.shavingstuff.com/archives/cat_head_shaving.php&docid=rKfel-QhSFzfTM&imgurl=http://www.shavingstuff.com/pictures/BaldHead.jpg&w=480&h=321&ei=tsVzT6OyK-Hi2QXJ9sjtDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&dur=3039&sig=113093677791136407435&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=182&start=0&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0&tx=59&ty=204&vpx=974&vpy=157&hovh=183&hovw=275) Yikes, somebody call Sigourney Weaver! ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2289 "2012-03-29T02:38:28Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > It’s not a search, it’s a final fitting. They don’t want those new clothes to be anything but perfect! It was thoughtful for them to give him a belt, too. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2290 "2012-03-29T02:40:09Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > It all pretty much makes perfect sense. Which everyone could see from the beginning. > > In order for it not to make sense, you have to live in a world where the cops drive around with full sets of well-fitting clothing to give you to drive you to the police station if you dirty yours up during the commission of a crime. Well, of course they bring a change of clothes. Suspects probably piss and shit their pants all the time, so it’s just a courtesy to have some clean clothes for them. It’s a sanitary thing. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2291 "2012-03-29T02:41:41Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > It was thoughtful for them to give him a belt, too. What is the chic department supposed to do, fail to accessorize? ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2292 "2012-03-29T02:45:24Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > You are really hung up on the 2 min thing, aren’t you? > > The truck’s placement in that pic is consistent with the idea that Zimmerman was driving in his truck during the last half of his 911 call. Once he lost sight of the kid while on foot on Retreat View, there was nothing stopping him from getting in his car and driving to Twin Trees. > > The 2 min only tells us how long Zimmerman was on the phone. It tells us nothing about what he was doing during that time. I am “hung up” on it because it is about the only hard evidence we have, and it doesn’t make a lick of sense. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2293 "2012-03-29T02:55:06Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I am “hung up” on it because it is about the only hard evidence we have, and it doesn’t make a lick of sense. What doesn’t make sense? Zimmerman’s claim? Or your imagined trajectory of Martin? You know what doesn’t make sense? How the life-and-death fight could be by the truck, but all the witnesses can talk about is what happens in the yard. And this is where the body is found. If Martin attacks in the street, how does Zimmerman “hold his ground” in the yard? How do the two even get in the yard? Nothing has leaked about Zimmerman accusing Martin of giving chase. This detail will decide once and for all if Zimmerman’s story is too implausible for him to remain uncharged. If only ABC could stop with the drips and drabs, and just spill its beans already! (Seriously, how is ABC finding all this information?) ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2294 "2012-03-29T02:59:26Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Y > > Also, I just googled “bald back of head” images, and here’s the fourth one that came up for me: [Another guy who got into a fight with Trayvon Martin, I guess.](http://www.google.com/imgres?q=bald+back+of+head&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1440&bih=769&tbm=isch&tbnid=1m_oiNuIcoOW7M:&imgrefurl=http://www.shavingstuff.com/archives/cat_head_shaving.php&docid=rKfel-QhSFzfTM&imgurl=http://www.shavingstuff.com/pictures/BaldHead.jpg&w=480&h=321&ei=tsVzT6OyK-Hi2QXJ9sjtDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&dur=3039&sig=113093677791136407435&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=182&start=0&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0&tx=59&ty=204&vpx=974&vpy=157&hovh=183&hovw=275) Now you just being obnoxious. That doesn’t look anything like the goose egg on Zimmerman’s head and it doesn’t explain why the copy was examining the back of his head. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2295 "2012-03-29T03:06:29Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > What doesn’t make sense? > > Zimmerman’s claim? > > Or your imagined trajectory of Martin? What doesn’t make sense is how Martin ended up where he died. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2296 "2012-03-29T03:08:50Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Just about 650 posts more, to pass that nearby Great On-Going Dating Thread! It took them 14 months instead of 15 days to get to 2000 posts! ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2297 "2012-03-29T03:09:04Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Now you just being obnoxious. That doesn’t look anything like the goose egg on Zimmerman’s head and it doesn’t explain why the copy was examining the back of his head. No, I’m not being obnoxious. I’m pointing out why your forensic investigation is not worth much. You see a goose egg. I see something that looks like what a lot of guys have on the back of their head. I grabbed one of the first images that came up on google images, but one can easily find tons of photos of bumps on the backs of guys heads. I don’t see anyone examining his head. There’s a point at which he gestures to his head, and a guy looks in the direction of his head, but that’s about it. Can you tell me what time you see this examination? Also, what I don’t see on the back of Zimmerman’s head is any sort of abrasions, cuts, bruising, discoloration or other types of indicators of injury that one might associate with repeatedly having one’s head slammed onto cement to such an extent that you feared for your life. Can you give me a close up of a still photo that shows anything like that? Otherwise, you’ve got an oddly shadowed close up of something that looks like what a lot of guys naturally have on the back of their head. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2298 "2012-03-29T03:10:50Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Now you just being obnoxious. That doesn’t look anything like the goose egg on Zimmerman’s head and it doesn’t explain why the copy was examining the back of his head. He was examining his head because Zimmerman just told him a dramatic story about his head being battered on a sidewalk. Cop takes a look at the supposed site of injury, and thinks “Mmmm, okay pal, whatever. I want a donut.” Then they walk on. It ain’t any deeper than this. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2299 "2012-03-29T03:13:26Z")
> [@treis](#): > > What doesn’t make sense is how Martin ended up where he died. That is precisely what makes the most sense. My guess from the start was that Martin got off the road because he was being followed by a truck. That is exactly the point where one might get off the road when being followed by a truck. What doesn’t make sense is how Zimmerman ended up where Martin died. At least if you believe the various accounts of his story. Checking a sign? Returning to his truck (from where?). ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/2300 "2012-03-29T03:15:25Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > In the county in which I practiced most often, there was a grand jury empaneled every other month, and an “interim” grand jury during the off months who sat to hear cases of defendants who were incarcerated. > > So if you were out on bail, you could go two months, with an average wait of a month. Jesus, that seems like an incredibly slow and inefficient system! I’m not sure how they do it here in California, but I think it’s all left up to the prosecutor… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504.md?page=114) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504.md?page=116)