# 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:** 152
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3021 "2012-04-03T20:42:31Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > What point are you making with this? Zimmerman was wearing a jacket, okay. But Martin was wearing a hoodie. And? Neither garment strikes me as inordinately heavy for a rainy night. 62 degrees is far from tropical. Based on your reaction, can I assume you are a woman? For a guy, that is wind breaker weather. For me it would be tee shirt and a umbrella weather in case it actually developed into serious rain. The point I’m making is that Zimmerman wasn’t wearing the jacket for comfort, he was wearing it to conceal his 9mm. Florida is a sucky state for concealed carry. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3022 "2012-04-03T20:44:45Z")
> [@treis](#): > > But I think the question is, why are you desperately searching to justify Martn’s actions, while trying to paint Zimmerman’s in the worst light? Call me crazy, but you’re doing that for Zimmerman by insisting that between the two of them, Martin was the bizarre one. And yet it is Zimmerman who gunned down an unarmed person who hadn’t been committing any crimes. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3023 "2012-04-03T20:45:48Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Do people actually save their seeds? It would be vanishingly rare for marijuana to be sold with seeds in it. Most marijuana is cultivated far, far away from any male plants. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3024 "2012-04-03T20:48:34Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Unless you have complete access to the GF’s affidavit, maybe you shouldn’t be so sure of this. Irony. Maybe you shouldn’t be so sure of everythinfg you are so sure of. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3025 "2012-04-03T20:50:16Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Because he didn’t hide well or was spotted or whatever. You asked for an explanation. Hiding in the middle of the sidewalk? > [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Casually? Really? And maybe he didn’t feel like he had time to call the cops. He had plenty of time to call 911. > [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > At what point are you suggesting he yell for help? Uh, any time after he was scared enough to run? > [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I am not suggesting he feared for his life. I am suggesting he wanted to get away form the weirdo who was tracking him and maybe, just maybe he figured he would try and disappear for a couple of minutes until Zimmerman went away. It doesn’t take a 7 year old, it takes someone who sees some dude he doesn’t trust, in a neighborhood he isn’t from to try and just avoid the situation if he can. You know, you are right, he probably should have just gone home, but the fact he didn’t isn’t particularly strange, in my mind. it would be nice if we all did the “right thing” every time, instead of you know maybe making a less then optimal decision. > > I don’t know what happened, but there are reasonable explanations as to why Martin didn’t go home that don’t involve him attacking Zimmerman. Your explanation sounds like the plot justification by a fanboy of a bad movie. There’s no real logic behind this explanation of Martin’s actions. The only reason to come up with them is to justify the preexisting story of racist asshole hunts down black kid. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3026 "2012-04-03T20:50:51Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > He formed his intent when he called Martin a “fucking coon” I’ve listened over and over again, it has always sounded more like “punks” than “coons” to me. Regardless, I don’t think it matters much at all. He doesn’t have to be a racist fuck to be guilty, and really, if it ever comes to trial. That might be a lousy bit of evidence for the prosecution to hang their hat on. Like the screams, it just isn’t definitive enough to eliminate reasonable doubt. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3027 "2012-04-03T20:55:48Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Call me crazy, but you’re doing that for Zimmerman by insisting that between the two of them, Martin was the bizarre one. And yet it is Zimmerman who gunned down an unarmed person who hadn’t been committing any crimes. I don’t know where you are from, but every place I’ve been to, punching someone in the face and then slamming their head into the sidewalk is a crime. Zimmerman’s actions are easy to explain: (1) Sees a teenager he doesn’t recognize walking slowly through the neighborhood (2) Calls cops to report suspicious person (3) Person runs once he realizes he has been spotted. (4) Zimmerman gets out to see where the suspicious person went (5) Zimmerman hangs out where he saw the guy ran to in order to spot him again (6) Gets confronted by suspicious guy (7) Gets decked by suspicious guy (8) Shoots guy in self defense It’s at least a logically consistent and sound story. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3028 "2012-04-03T20:56:10Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > I would suggest using the smiley face icons. I got complaints to the moderator for my ostrich comment. Good advice noted. 🙂 > [@](#): > > This usually falls under the heading of “shit I did in high school/college stories”. Do people actually save their seeds? IANAPE Just off the cuff I would say it isn’t common, but not outside the realm of possibility. :o ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3029 "2012-04-03T20:57:25Z")
There’s nothing unsound about Martin’s actions either, unless you think he knew that Zimmerman was armed and thought he was a criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3030 "2012-04-03T21:02:01Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I don’t know where you are from, but every place I’ve been to, punching someone in the face and then slamming their head into the sidewalk is a crime. There is no evidence that happened. Flimsy assumptions. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3031 "2012-04-03T21:02:15Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I don’t know where you are from, but every place I’ve been to, punching someone in the face and then slamming their head into the sidewalk is a crime. > > Zimmerman’s actions are easy to explain: > > (1) Sees a teenager he doesn’t recognize walking slowly through the neighborhood > > (2) Calls cops to report suspicious person > > **(3) Person runs once he realizes he has been spotted.** > > (4) Zimmerman gets out to see where the suspicious person went > > (5) Zimmerman hangs out where he saw the guy ran to in order to spot him again > > **(6) Gets confronted by suspicious guy** > > (7) Gets decked by suspicious guy > > (8) Shoots guy in self defense > > It’s at least a logically consistent and sound story. Bolding mine. If the suspicious person ran and Zimmerman stopped following him, either “hanging out” like you say, or returning to his truck like he says, how is it logically consistent for the suspicious person to reverse course and confront Zimmerman? He’s made two diametrically opposed decisions – run, and then do the exact opposite of run. I mean, I suppose it could have happened that way, but then you have to say that Martin behaved inconsistently. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3032 "2012-04-03T21:02:45Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > I can’t speak to the weather and local dress norms. For my area, 62° is shorts and t-shirt weather right now. That sounds wonderful. It is in the nineties in Orlando, but at least the humidity is still low. The rest of the week has a forecast of rain in the afternoon. When the rain stops and the sun comes out it is a frigging sauna. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3033 "2012-04-03T21:03:02Z")
> [@treis](#): > > (2) Why is he casually chatting with his girlfriend instead of calling the cops? > > (3) Why doesn’t he yell for help? > > (4) Why doesn’t he knock on a door? This is a 17 year old Black Male we are talking about. #2 is almost certainly out of the question. #3 was probably done but too late. #4 again is not very likely to happen. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3034 "2012-04-03T21:03:26Z")
> [@treis](#): > > There’s no obvious place to take shelter in the google satellite view of the area. Is this the best you do? You’re looking at a top-down view of an area taken hundreds of feet off the ground and declaring matter-of-factly that there wasn’t an awning or overhang where that he could have been standing under. Okay, dude. I’m overwhelmed by your logic here. Martin was killed on the backyard pathway, not a sidewalk. Martin could had stopped anywhere in that back area to continue talking to his GF, once he though he’d lost Zimmerman. Including smack dab in the middle of the pathway if he had wanted to. My point in bringing up his GF’s statement is that it doesn’t sound like he was ever in a rush to get home. This actually surprises me too, because I’d assumed that being out in the rain would be unpleasant enough that he’d want to go home right away. Add in a stalker and even more so. But as folks have assured me, this is a 17 year-old male we’re talking about. As a visitor at his Dad’s fiancee’s, I guess it makes sense that he would rather be outside talking to his GF. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3035 "2012-04-03T21:06:11Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > There’s nothing unsound about Martin’s actions either, unless you think he knew that Zimmerman was armed and thought he was a criminal. Then the idea that Zimmerman was brandishing a gun in order to restrain Martin must be wrong. And I might quibble with the idea that punching someone in the face and slamming his head into the ground is a sound course of action. If that’s how it went down. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3036 "2012-04-03T21:07:25Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > It would be vanishingly rare for marijuana to be sold with seeds in it. Most marijuana is cultivated far, far away from any male plants. Damn! I wonder what the hell my friend had? Oregano? :eek: One of the drawbacks of being out in the sticks I guess. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3037 "2012-04-03T21:12:26Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > The point I’m making is that Zimmerman wasn’t wearing the jacket for comfort, he was wearing it to conceal his 9mm. Florida is a sucky state for concealed carry. Okay, that’s nice. Still doesn’t prove that Zimmerman would not have pulled out his gun on Martin, though. It really doesn’t. Just like Martin’s hoodie doesn’t prove he was up to no good. BTW, Floridians are accustomed to hot weather, so when the mercury falls below 70, we should not be surprised when they overreact and dress warmly. Likewise, go up north and you’ll see shorts and sandals come out just as it soon as it breaks 60. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3038 "2012-04-03T21:12:51Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > There is no evidence that happened. Flimsy assumptions. Are you kidding? We have an eye witness that says he saw Martin beating Zimmerman, and the Police reported that they found Zimmerman bleeding from the nose and head. You may not believe that the evidence is correct, but there is indisputably evidence being offered to support that claim. It isn’t an assumption. > [@steronz](#): > > Bolding mine. If the suspicious person ran and Zimmerman stopped following him, either “hanging out” like you say, or returning to his truck like he says, how is it logically consistent for the suspicious person to reverse course and confront Zimmerman? He’s made two diametrically opposed decisions – run, and then do the exact opposite of run. > > I mean, I suppose it could have happened that way, but then you have to say that Martin behaved inconsistently. I haven’t come up with any logical explanation for Martin’s actions that night, and I haven’t even really seen a half convincing case. > [@you with the face](#): > > Is this the best you do? You’re looking at a top-down view of an area taken hundreds of feet off the ground and declaring matter-of-factly that there wasn’t an awning or overhang where that he could have been standing under. Okay, dude. I’m overwhelmed by your logic here. > > Martin was killed on the backyard pathway, not a sidewalk. Martin could had stopped anywhere in that back area to continue talking to his GF, once he though he’d lost Zimmerman. Including smack dab in the middle of the pathway if he had wanted to. > > My point in bringing up his GF’s statement is that it doesn’t sound like he was ever in a rush to get home. This actually surprises me too, because I’d assumed that being out in the rain would be unpleasant enough that he’d want to go home right away. Add in a stalker and even more so. But as folks have assured me, this is a 17 year-old male we’re talking about. As a visitor at his Dad’s fiancee’s, I guess it makes sense that he would rather be outside talking to his GF. This doesn’t make any sense at all. If Martin had stopped where his body was, Zimmerman should have encountered him when he ran after him. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3039 "2012-04-03T21:13:11Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Your explanation sounds like the plot justification by a fanboy of a bad movie. There’s no real logic behind this explanation of Martin’s actions. The only reason to come up with them is to justify the preexisting story of racist asshole hunts down black kid. Wow, um, no. The explanations actually have nothing to do with Zimmerman himself so much as Martin’s thoughts about what was happening and it all is perfectly valid for a kid in an unfamiliar neighborhood who is not exactly sure why some guy seems to be following him. It seems far fetched to you because in your mind there is only two possible ways for someone to act in this situation, run like hell to the house, or wait ambush someone. You seem to only believe in these two options. There are many viable options. But the fact is that there are many, many reasons why he might not have gone straight home and they are not outrageous or the result of an active imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3040 "2012-04-03T21:13:54Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > This actually surprises me too, because I’d assumed that being out in the rain would be unpleasant enough that he’d want to go home right away. Right from the get go, Zimmerman describes Martin as: > [@](#): > > It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about. > [@](#): > > he was just staring…looking at all the houses. I took this to mean that Martin was new to the area. Checking out the place, the cars, what people have. As a teenager I liked to go ride my bike around in the “nice” neighbor hood and gawk at all the stuff people had. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504.md?page=151) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504.md?page=153)