# 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:** 34
**Author:** ![Bemused](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/46a35a/32.png) [@Bemused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bemused)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/661 "2012-03-19T23:38:18Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > By the way **Bemused** made the claim that a police officer engaged in a consensual encounter with someone is an illegal search, and insists there is tons of case work on that. Even as a laymen I know that’s absolutely false, there is a ton of case work on an illegal search and there is absolutely no fourth amendment implications in a police officer walking up to someone and asking them “hey, what are you doing?” As long as the citizen has the right to ignore the question or refuse to answer without being stopped by the legal authority of the officer or by force there is no fourth amendment implication to that approach and question. Please show me exactly where I stated that a police officer engaged in a consensual encounter is performing an illegal search. What I stated on several previous occasions is that lacking probable cause or at least reasonable suspicion, a person going about his business is not obligated to answer or cooperate with the police officer. Once the person declines to cooperate, if the police officer persists absent probable cause, it is an illegal search. it is also no longer a consensual encounter because the citizen has chosen to not consent. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/662 "2012-03-20T00:01:56Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > prior history (all the cases in Florida in which prosecutors have decided not to prosecute armed people shooting unarmed people because of SYG statute) as well as the actual fact that the authorities have so far not charged Zimmerman strongly suggests the people who are actually informed on the law agree with me that the case against Zimmerman so far isn’t a slam dunk. In fact, it’s weak. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with the statement that “it’s weak”, I haven’t heard what Zimmerman’s account of his actions are (have the police released his description of the events?), and I don’t know how long it usually takes to charge someone in a case like this, but I assume that it would usually happen sooner if the case was a “slam-dunk”. I am prepared to accept right now that the case, from the law enforcement point of view, is not clear-cut. > [@](#): > > Armchair lawyers in this thread on the other hand are insisting Zimmerman is guilty of all kinds of things based on a simplistic and infantile assessment of the legal situation. One that at least so far the authorities in Florida do not agree with and that a former Federal prosecutor and current law professor do not agree with. He might not be guilty of anything under Florida law. But if not, then this case clearly shows that there is something wrong with Florida law, if a vigilante can approache people at night, despite the advice of the emergency responder, confront an innocent person with a gun, shoot them dead, and get away scot-free. I would hope that anyone’s sense of justice would be outraged by this kind of event. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/663 "2012-03-20T00:09:40Z")
> [@Bemused](#): > > Fine, it might be legal for him to approach and ask a question. He has no authority to do so, but as you say, he needs no authority just for that. But it would certainly appear, in the particular circumstance, that things went well beyond him asking a question. If we assume for the present that the kid was in his right mind, and behaving normally as someone his age (I forget…16? 17?) could be expected to behave, then things must have gone well beyond just questioning; Zimmerman pretty much had to have crossed the line into assault. For that, he has no right and no authority - and, for that matter, apparently no just cause. Why do you assume that Martin behaved normally and legally, but Zimmerman must have crossed the line into assault? When we discuss reasonable suspicion, a level of suspicion BELOW that of probable cause, we say that in order to develop reasonable suspicion, the police must identify specific, articulable facts that give rise to the finding. You need probable cause here, a more demanding standard, and the best you can apparently do is speculate that Zimmerman must have crossed the line into assault. That’s not sufficient. If you asked a magistrate to issue an arrest warrant based on the facts you’ve laid out here, he would refuse. > [@](#): > > I may have the right to approach you and ask you a question; I don’t have the right to confront you when you are merely pursuing your lawful business. Yes you do, unless “confront” means something more than the dictionary says it does. > [@](#): > > I don’t have the right to attempt to detain you under virtually any circumstances. Correct. > [@](#): > > He absolutely is constrained from confronting someone unless he has probable cause to believe that the person is committing a crime or is about to commit a crime. At the most, he may briefly stop someone for a good purpose, but cannot detain them without cause. He is specifically constrained from stopping pedestrians on the street and asking them for their purpose in being there and/or for their identification, unless he can show that he has reason to believe… etc. > > The body of law on this is simply immense. It has been before the Supreme Court in various forms many times, and absent just cause, such a stopping is held to be an illegal search. Again with “confront.” He can confront anyone he wishes for any reason at all. It’s true he cannot stop anyone without reasonable, articulable suspicion. > [@](#): > > And if my response is that “I don’t want to tell you, it is not your business”, then absent just cause he MUST let me pass. Correct. > [@](#): > > Right back at you. Please stop splitting hairs. I earlier acknowledged that merely approaching to ask a question is not illegal. But this, quite obviously, is not that. The problem is we don’t know what this is. Probable cause contains the word PROBABLE because we don’t allow speculation and inchoate guesses to form the basis for an arrest. That is not splitting hairs, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/664 "2012-03-20T00:15:35Z")
> [@Bemused](#): > > Please show me exactly where I stated that a police officer engaged in a consensual encounter is performing an illegal search. Here, when, discussing a police officer, you said: > [@Bemused](#): > > He absolutely is constrained from confronting someone unless he has probable cause to believe that the person is committing a crime or is about to commit a crime. “Confronting” is not seizing. It does not offend the Fourth Amendment. A police officer can confront you for any reason or no reason at all. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/665 "2012-03-20T00:28:23Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Under this scenario, how would it come to be that Martin was shot in someone’s backyard? Do you think Zimmerman followed him there? Or do you think the fight started on the sidewalk and migrated? > > Here’s another question: Why would someone try to wrestle a gun away from someone in the dark? Would you think to do that? Especially in a panic situation? > > When adrenaline is pumping, a person usually exhibits one of two reactions (or a combo): fight or flight. Not grabbing-a-gun-from-a-strange-creepy-man-in-the-dark reaction. To bring your body closer to a gun is antithetical to human instinct, so to propose this as a possibility means you think it’s a good possibilty Martin was a suicidal idiot. It also betrays an unwillingness to factor in what we know about human nature, just to concoct a scenario that justifies Zimmerman’s actions. A stretch, in other words. And any scenario that appears to be stretch on its face should not be favored over those that aren’t a stretch. Occam’s razor. > > Common sense should tell us that if we had to guess, Martin would have tried to run away from the gun as well as the man holding the gun. If Martin decked Zimmerman, it more than likely was when the fight was already underway or after Zimmerman tried to restrain him in some way. That was his intent from the start: to keep the boy from running away. There is absolutely no reason we should dismiss that 911 evidence, when it’s central to determining who started what. > > We could invent any kind of scenario to justify any kind of thing. Seriously. It takes no detective skill to do such a thing; only an active enough imagination. You have to make your story align with common sense and the available evidence. The problem with Zimmerman’s story is that it doesn’t align with common sense. It’s a stretch. If two people are grappling on the ground in direct contact and one manages to pull a gun from a holster or pocket, then it’s entirely plausible that the other party might try to grab it. It would in fact the safest possible move given the not unreasonable belief that you’re about to be shot with it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/666 "2012-03-20T00:33:33Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Why do you assume that Martin behaved normally and legally, but Zimmerman must have crossed the line into assault? > . The 911 call paints a very bad picture of him:… “another “bleeped” one gets away”. This backs up his actions where he gets out of the car to confront the kid. He did not want him to get away from the crime committed in Zimmerman’s head. From Martin’s perspective there is a guy in a car watching him who then gets out and confronts him. Looks like a case of “DWB” committed by a vigilante. I would like to know what was bleeped from the 911 call. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/667 "2012-03-20T00:36:14Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Why do you assume that Martin behaved normally and legally, but Zimmerman must have crossed the line into assault? Well, normal behaviour, to me, would be someone getting scared when a larger, heavier man stops them in the street at night, and trying to get away from that guy. We have no reason to think that Martin would have approached Zimmerman first. We have many reasons to think that Zimmerman approached Martin first. It’s very probable to believe, based on the 911 calls, that if the young man tried to get away, Zimmerman would have stopped him physically. In any case, I’ll suppose that legally, Zimmerman’s behaviour fits the criteria for Florida law to be able to shoot someone and get away with it. Regardless, if he’s wandering around at night carrying a gun and confronting people, and can’t get out of a tussle with a teenager much smaller than himself without shooting the teenager dead, he has no business going out with a gun at night, is engaging in dangerous behaviour, and society would benefit if we discouraged this kind of behaviour and prevented these kinds of deaths. If Florida law has no penalty for someone like Zimmerman, then obviously the law needs to be modified. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/668 "2012-03-20T00:43:23Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > If two people are grappling on the ground in direct contact and one manages to pull a gun from a holster or pocket, then it’s entirely plausible that the other party might try to grab it. It would in fact the safest possible move given the not unreasonable belief that you’re about to be shot with it. If you go by this theory, then the teenager, by grabbing the gun, was also trying to defend himself? It was just a flip of the dice which one shot the other first, but either would have been justified in shooting the other? ---
**Author:** ![Dufus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Dufus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dufus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/669 "2012-03-20T00:45:53Z")
The brain parasite that controls bizarre human behavior has turned 180 degrees. It wants more Rodney King riot behavior from its host. ---
**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 20, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/670 "2012-03-20T01:09:53Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > If two people are grappling on the ground in direct contact and one manages to pull a gun from a holster or pocket, then it’s entirely plausible that the other party might try to grab it. It would in fact the safest possible move given the not unreasonable belief that you’re about to be shot with it. Why would you assume that the gun wasn’t already pulled? Because it makes perfect sense that it would have been out from the start of the altercation. Zimmerman is approaching, on a dark street, someone who he had determined was a criminal. In his mind, the kid is armed and dangerous. So why would he confronting someone without making it known to his opponent that he has the capacity to kill? It would be like running into a burning building without a hose in hand. A weapon doesnt protect you if no one knows you have one. So if you were as paranoid about Martin as Zimmerman revealed himself to be when he phoned 911, ask yourself how likely is it that you wouldn’t already have your gun out when you walked up to him. That is probably the only reason he had the balls to approach him the first place. On Anderson Cooper tonite, Martin’s dad was interviewed and he said that the boy was listening to his iPod as he was walking. Which means its possible he didn’t know Zimmerman was behind him up until he was right on top of him. Now if this the case, it explains how Zimmerman was able to close the distance between them so quickly. Perhaps Zimmerman called out to the kid and Martin ignored him. In anger he draws his gun and rushes over to give the kid a piece of his mind. Kid is freaked out and tries to run, but Zimmerman is having none of that. He grabs him by the arm. Kid tries to fight him off and manages to free himself. A chase ensues, with Martin heading behind someone’s house. Hes yelling for help. Zimmerman gets a hold of him again and they wrestle on the ground. Kid still is yelling for help, just as you would expect from someone who has an armed maniac fighting him. Zimmerman shoots the kid, if anything to get him to shut the fuck up because he’s drawing attention now. And he’s mad as well because he hit head on a rock or some shit while they were tousling on the ground. Do I have evidence of this happening exactly like this? No, i would be surprised if it didn’t play out very close to 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:** [March 20, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/671 "2012-03-20T01:24:12Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I would like to know what was bleeped from the 911 call. “Assholes”. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/672 "2012-03-20T01:40:14Z")
Another assholes one got away? The only way that sentence parses is if the missing word is “fucking”, I’d think. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/673 "2012-03-20T01:48:56Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Another assholes one got away? > > The only way that sentence parses is if the missing word is “fucking”, I’d think. actually the quote should be " these? \* bleeped\* they always get away". my apologies for not getting it right. not sure of the “these” but that’s what it sounds like to me. ---
**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 20, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/674 "2012-03-20T01:52:48Z")
I thought he was quoted as saying “These assholes always get away.” Is that not right? Honestly, Zimmerman could have said “These niggers, I would love to stick my .44 up their black asses and watch them try to run from me then!” and it still wouldnt matter. The 911 call as it is now couldn’t get any clearer that Zimmerman is a racially biased nutcase. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/675 "2012-03-20T02:03:52Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > I thought he was quoted as saying “These assholes always get away.” Is that not right? > > Honestly, Zimmerman could have said “These niggers, I would love to stick my .44 up their black asses and watch them try to run from me then!” and it still wouldnt matter. The 911 call as it is now couldn’t get any clearer that Zimmerman is a racially biased nutcase. You can’t make that claim based on what he said. They had recently had a number of break-ins and could have been referring to the assholes who committed the crime. He certainly was projecting his belief that the kid was trouble based on his appearance and behavior. If kids do anything on a universal basis in this country it’s to dress in a way as to piss off their parents. ---
**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 20, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/676 "2012-03-20T02:11:35Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Do I have evidence of this happening exactly like this? No, i would be surprised if it didn’t play out very close to it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/677 "2012-03-20T02:20:25Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > White guy, black kid. Interestingly, Zimmerman is [biracial](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/us/justice-department-investigation-is-sought-in-florida-teenagers-shooting-death.html?), and he looks Latino. ---
**Author:** ![OnePercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6f9a4e/32.png) [@OnePercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OnePercent)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/678 "2012-03-20T02:20:45Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Why would you assume that the gun wasn’t already pulled? Because it makes perfect sense that it would have been out from the start of the altercation. > > Zimmerman is approaching, on a dark street, someone who he had determined was a criminal. In his mind, the kid is armed and dangerous. So why would he confronting someone without making it known to his opponent that he has the capacity to kill? It would be like running into a burning building without a hose in hand. A weapon doesnt protect you if no one knows you have one. > > So if you were as paranoid about Martin as Zimmerman revealed himself to be when he phoned 911, ask yourself how likely is it that you wouldn’t already have your gun out when you walked up to him. That is probably the only reason he had the balls to approach him the first place. > > On Anderson Cooper tonite, Martin’s dad was interviewed and he said that the boy was listening to his iPod as he was walking. Which means its possible he didn’t know Zimmerman was behind him up until he was right on top of him. Now if this the case, it explains how Zimmerman was able to close the distance between them so quickly. Perhaps Zimmerman called out to the kid and Martin ignored him. In anger he draws his gun and rushes over to give the kid a piece of his mind. Kid is freaked out and tries to run, but Zimmerman is having none of that. He grabs him by the arm. Kid tries to fight him off and manages to free himself. A chase ensues, with Martin heading behind someone’s house. Hes yelling for help. Zimmerman gets a hold of him again and they wrestle on the ground. Kid still is yelling for help, just as you would expect from someone who has an armed maniac fighting him. Zimmerman shoots the kid, if anything to get him to shut the fuck up because he’s drawing attention now. And he’s mad as well because he hit head on a rock or some shit while they were tousling on the ground. > > Do I have evidence of this happening exactly like this? No, i would be surprised if it didn’t play out very close to it. Nothing like wild speculation to throw fuel on the fire. The simple fact is that everyone posting on this board is basing all of their assumptions on incomplete and circumstantial evidence. There is a legal term for this kind of information: hearsay. I have done a fair amount of research on this case and to my knowledge the police have not released a full accounting of their evidence by any stretch of the imagination. All we have to go on are bits and pieces of the whole story that have leaked out and a whole lot of “anonymous witness” reports that the media has spread around like gossip in a high school with virtually no corroborating evidence from anyone in an official status. Furthermore, we are unlikely to get any official report on the incident until either the case is closed or Zimmerman is officially charged and the case goes in front of a grand jury. Until then every reaction is nothing more than a knee-jerk response to emotional stimuli. But, WTH, if we are all making wild postulations as to what actually happened that night I guess I will make a go of it myself: - Zimmerman called the cops to report a suspicious person (Martin). While on the phone with the cops Martin noticed Zimmerman on the phone and began to walk away (why would he run if he had done nothing wrong, right?) - Zimmerman was afraid that the potential burglar/vandal/whatever would get away so he exited the vehicle and followed on foot (once again, there is no reason to think that he was running). - Martin noticed Zimmerman was following him and turned to confront him. An argument ensued and Martin struck Zimmerman in the face (motive: an angry young man upset at being “profiled” by a neighborhood watch captain). - Zimmerman was not expecting to get punched so he made no effort to block the strike, which knocked him down causing him to bang the back of his head on the ground. This left him with the bloody nose and the injury on the back of his head. Undoubtedly it would have also left him shaken and frightened. This is probably when Zimmerman began to cry for help and “whine” as numerous 911 calls have reported. (To my knowledge it is also the official police position that Zimmerman was the one calling for help on those calls). - Instead of leaving the scene Martin either continued to attack Zimmerman or stood over him gloating for a moment. In either event Zimmerman would have had reason to fear continued attacks. At this time Zimmerman drew his weapon and fired a single shot upward at Martin. Martin then stumbled backwards before falling. He may have then made some effort to crawl away from Zimmerman so that he actually died some distance away from where the actual fight took place. Now, once again, I have no evidence that it actually happened like this, but considering that the police have thus far declined to press charges on Zimmerman I think it is very likely that the final report of what occurred that night will end up looking a lot like this. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/679 "2012-03-20T02:22:27Z")
[http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/19/2702685\_p2/floridas-controversial-self-defense.html](http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/19/2702685_p2/floridas-controversial-self-defense.html) Two interesting things in this story that I haven’t read elsewhere, both from chief Lee regarding Zimmermans statement to the police: 1. Zimmerman told the cops he only left his truck to check the sign to see what street he was on, and 2. Zimmerman said he was walking back to his truck when Martin jumped him from behind 1 is obviously a lie as Zimmerman had been patroling around the small complex for over a year…constantly. 2 sounds like like complete bullshit and I don’t know why he would have much credibility since he lied about what he was doing in the first place. He told the dispatcher he was following Martin. Has anyone seen a diagram anywhere that shows where the truck was and where the body was found? ---
**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 20, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/680 "2012-03-20T02:23:05Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > He certainly was projecting his belief that the kid was trouble based on his appearance and behavior. If kids do anything on a universal basis in this country it’s to dress in a way as to piss off their parents. I know of no parents (or random strangers, for that matter), who would object to a teenage boy wearing something as mundane as jeans, white sneakers, and a hoodie outside in the rain. It’s a wardrobe is that is so commonplace that it’s boring. By itself, it would mean nothing. But couple it with a black male, and suddenly you’re dealing with what looks like a criminal, to a mind programmed to think that way. Some of Zimmerman’s neighbors have claimed that he has a anti black bias, based on his previous dealings with people. I think they would know better than anyone here whether the man is color-blind in his assessments. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504.md?page=35)