So Why Would Zimmerman Not Necessarily Have Deserved a Swollen Nose and Bruises?

[Demo_Chris]

42. My opinion

GZ followed this boy on a dark rainy night in his vehicle.
TM walked away.
GZ continued to pursue him in his vehicle, slowly driving after him.
TM ran away. He was scared of the stranger behind him.
GZ then exited his vehicle and ran after him. He continued to do so after being advised to stop by dispatch.
All of this would create a reasonable fear in TMs mind. He clearly felt like he was in danger (it turns out he was correct).

The critical question:

What steps, if any, did GZ take to reassure TM that he was not a threat. According to GZ the answer is none. Lacking this, TM had more than satisfied any requirements for self-defense. He was in reasonable fear for his life -- as it turns out he was correct to be afraid. Looking beyond this, GZs story simply does not add up. The times are wrong, and his statements to officers do not fit with the evidence or what he reported to dispatch.

It is MY BELIEF (note, opinion here) that almost everything GZ has reported about that night, from the call to dispatch to the post-shooting interviews, are all lies. I BELIEVE, based upon the statements GZ made to dispatch, that he intended to kill someone. I believe he was setting the stage for a "justified" shoot while on the telephone. Let's review his critical statements in the 911 call, in order. My comments in parentheses:

There’s a real suspicious guy.
This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something...

(GZ establishing motive: TM is on drugs)

He looks black.
He’s here now … he’s just staring.
Now he’s staring at me.

(GZ is setting the stage: The black drugged out hoodlum is sizing up his next victim.)

Now he’s coming toward me.

(GZ establishing cause for fear: the drugged up hoodlum is heading his way!)

He’s got his hands in his waist band.

(Holy crap George, watch out!)

Something’s wrong with him.
Yep, he’s coming to check me out.
He’s got something in his hands.

( Shit George, is it a gun! Zimmerman has almost finished laying the groundwork for a "justified" self-defense shooting...[/b)]

See if you can get an officer over here.
I don’t know what his deal is.
How long until you get an officer over here?

( And there it is. Poor Zimmerman is frightened. Where's the help?! Please send help! He's laid the foundation, now to blow this guy away. Except...)

He’s running.

( Poor George. All that work setting the stage, ruined.)

Zimmerman went through that entire 911 call setting up his shoot. In my opinion he planned to gun down Trayvon right there on the street. Only two things marred this otherwise wonderful show. The first is that Tugboat wanted to sound cool and in-control; the second was that the 911 dispatcher didn't play along with him. I suspect that this dispatcher felt something was off. He was not giving the kinds of advice you might expect if he believed what Zimmerman was telling him. Advice such as: get away from this drugged up guy who might have just drawn a weapon and is now heading your way.

And of course ALL of this falls apart once the facts become more clear. Zimmerman was unable to describe to the investigating detectives what TM was doing that led him to believe that TM was on drugs, he was unable to describe what TM was doing that inspired him to say "Something is wrong with him." In fact, we now know that Trayvon was NOT on drugs, and so far as anyone can tell nothing was wrong with him. These are critical points. CRITICAL. They set the stage for everything that follows, and if Zimmerman remembered nothing else he would remember this. He doesn't remember because it was an invention, he was just checking off his self-defense list.

I don't want to belabor this, but it's important.

His "belief" that Trayvon was on drugs, and that something was wrong with him, are the theoretical reasons for everything that followed. This was the reason he was calling the police in the first place, the reason he began following this poor kid around. He followed because something was wrong with him, he was on drugs, he was up to no good.

Only none of that is true. George cannot describe what led him to believe these things because it was an invention. Trayvon wasn't on drugs, wasn't singing in the rain or doing backflips down main street, he was walking home from the store while talking to his girlfriend on the phone. He was an innocent kid, and Zimmerman is quite possibly a psychopath.

The problem here is that the Limbaugh / Fox news right has politicized this case. But I am still cautiously optimistic that this guy is going to prison.