Oh, please.

[gratuitous]

4. And . . . (in my opinion)

This isn't the first time this has happened in Florida. The Sanford police are getting a lot of static over their handling of this matter, but my take is that they did what police departments all over the state do in these situations. As soon as the shooter says the magic words prescribed by the law, and after a cursory check of the victim to be sure he or she is of the proper race or social stratum, then everyone goes their separate ways and no further inquiry is needed.

The problem in this particular instance is that there were apparently several folks in the area observing the events as they unfolded, and young Mr. Martin's girlfriend was on the phone with him at the crucial moment. If those little bits and pieces of evidence hadn't surfaced, we wouldn't have heard a word about this.