# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 214
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4261 "2012-04-17T19:36:29Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > I have experience with documenting patient refusals, working for the government, so sorry if I see the absence of “against medical advice” in the police report as being significant. Again, you don’t know what you are talking about. Zimmerman didn’t have injuries warranting transport to a hospital. There’s zero reason to think there would be an AMA waiver anywhere. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4262 "2012-04-17T19:40:14Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Nothing. > > What’s horrible is watching you derail a perfectly good discussion so you can relentlessly browbeat people for reasons that have more to do with your ego than anything of real consequence. That’s what is horrible. Wow! Pot, meet kettle. ---
**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 17, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4263 "2012-04-17T19:43:26Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Again, you don’t know what you are talking about. Zimmerman didn’t have injuries warranting transport to a hospital. There’s zero reason to think there would be an AMA waiver anywhere. Whatever you say, doc. ---
**Author:** ![Barrett\_Bonden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Barrett\_Bonden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrett_Bonden)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4264 "2012-04-17T19:45:02Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And perhaps it’s simply old habits, but in both the Duke lacrosse case and this one, my instinct is to question the prosecution case. > > Since I was a defense attorney, maybe that’s not too surprising. This very thought had occurred to me just today. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4265 "2012-04-17T19:46:40Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Again, you don’t know what you are talking about. Zimmerman didn’t have injuries warranting transport to a hospital. There’s zero reason to think there would be an AMA waiver anywhere. Zero reason? Zero? How about FSA 381.026, which imposes a duty of the provider to document a refusal of medical treatment? Now, I grant that Zimmerman may not have had injuries that required medical attention, but if he didn’t, then some of the people that relayed the events on his behalf would seem to be drastic exaggerators, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4266 "2012-04-17T19:48:16Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > The latter. This is with human patients correct? Honestly I am not trying to be an ass here. I was under the impression you were a doctor of veterinary medicine. Certainly there are correlations but patient refusal wouldn’t be one. Would it? ---
**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 17, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4267 "2012-04-17T20:24:51Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > This is with human patients correct? Honestly I am not trying to be an ass here. I was under the impression you were a doctor of veterinary medicine. Certainly there are correlations but patient refusal wouldn’t be one. Would it? Yes, I’m a vet but I work in public health, which means all of my “patients” are humans. My experience with patient refusals comes from evaluating (human) patients for rabies exposure and advising them to seek medical attention if I’ve determined they were bitten by a suspect animal. For liability purposes, any time I’ve dealt with a patient who indicated refusal to follow my advice, I make sure to document it. There were no legal requirements I do so, just common sensical ones. This protocol is in place in every local health department I’ve known. No one wants to be holding the hot potato when an idiot gets rabies and then their lawyers try to sue everyone and their garbage collector afterwards. Documenting evidence like this is such a no-brainer to me that I can’t assume law enforcement would neglect to do the same thing when they’re taking someone with head trauma into custody. The lawyers in this thread can wave this away all they want, but I won’t be surprised if it’s brought up in trial. Hopefully, Zimmerman’s defense won’t use it as a way of arguing that he was denied hospital care. We’ve already see evidence that this is what he’s trying to do, though, if the media reports are accurate. But anyway, why do you care so much? You obviously think I’m just a crazy-talking crazy person, so maybe you should just ignore me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you are actually interested in my opinions or something. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4268 "2012-04-17T20:48:11Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > But anyway, why do you care so much? You obviously think I’m just a crazy-talking crazy person, so maybe you should just ignore me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you are actually interested in my opinions or something. Thanks. I learned something. 🙂 Not only that I am in agreement that it is a sensible habit to be in. I care, because I am learning. Learning how and why people communicate they way they do, how to better communicate myself. Why should I ignore you? Do you think what you have to say isn’t worth being heard? I’m interested in everyone’s opinions. I’d rather not ignore anyone, what’s the point of being on a message board then? ---
**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:** [April 17, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4269 "2012-04-17T20:49:07Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I agree, I think. I’m just not sanguine that we know what GZ’s actual version is, as opposed to a totem-pole hearsay recounting of his story. It will be interesting to see what the real story is, because I lack the imagination needed to listen to those 911 calls and come up with anything that makes his claim of self-defense believable. I’m not saying there are no possibilities, just saying I can’t imagine what they are. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4270 "2012-04-17T20:50:36Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Yes, I’m a vet but I work in public health, which means all of my “patients” are humans. My experience with patient refusals comes from evaluating (human) patients for rabies exposure and advising them to seek medical attention if I’ve determined they were bitten by a suspect animal. For liability purposes, any time I’ve dealt with a patient who indicated refusal to follow my advice, I make sure to document it. There were no legal requirements I do so, just common sensical ones. This protocol is in place in every local health department I’ve known. No one wants to be holding the hot potato when an idiot gets rabies and then their lawyers try to sue everyone and their garbage collector afterwards. So you, a person in the medical field, document refusals. Which is exactly what I’m saying… and what Florida law says. You don’t say, apart from your invocation of common sense, what makes you think police officers would routinely document it. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4271 "2012-04-17T20:52:05Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > It will be interesting to see what the real story is, because I lack the imagination needed to listen to those 911 calls and come up with anything that makes his claim of self-defense believable. I’m not saying there are no possibilities, just saying I can’t imagine what they are. I don’t know if we’ll ever learn the real story… but I’m very interested in what Zimmerman said, because whatever it was was enough to make the first prosecutor look at it and decide not to charge him. I’m very very curious to see what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/4272 "2012-04-17T21:01:27Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Nothing. > > What’s horrible is watching you derail a perfectly good discussion so you can relentlessly browbeat people for reasons that have more to do with your ego than anything of real consequence. That’s what is horrible. I’ve asked a couple times that this sort of thing stop, but as we see here, it’s been ignored. As indicated earlier, I am now closing down this thread. If anyone would like to open a new thread, and propose a specific topic of discussion, perhaps we can stay on track. Remember, we are called upon here to explore and exchange _ideas_. Question each others’ premise, reasoning, logic, facts, ect., _but do not insult the poster_. That’s the rules, and if you’d like to stick to them, open another IMHO thread. If you would just like to cast aspersions upon other posters, well, everyone knows the way to the Pit. Thread closed. Ellen Cherry [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504.md?page=213)