Ex-Sanford police chief: Zimmerman probe 'taken away from us'

[24601]

37. Stalking likely has a specific meaning and following someone whole reporting their movements to the

police dispatcher would rise to the level of a crime. Approaching another person on the sidewalk is not a crime. The police testified under oath that Zimmerman following Martin broke no law. They also testified that telling Zimmerman that they did not need him to follow Martin was not a police order because of two reasons - the first being that the dispatcher is not a sworn officer and secondly because they were not permitted to give such an order.

So the issue comes down to who took the first swing and therefore (il)legally became the aggressor. The other person becomes the non-aggressor is entitled to self defense and under Florida law has no duty to retreat. There has been no credible evidence introduced identifying the aggressor and, coupled with the legal standard that a defendant is not guilty until proved otherwise, the existence of reasonable doubt isn't really in question if the jury follows the law and applies the evidence.

Tragic that a young man was killed? Absolutely. Proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman threw the 1st punch and was the aggressor? Not even close. Convince me that someone with a gun is going to going to start a fight with bare hands - that dog don't hunt.

OJ walked with a much stronger case murder case against him. Don't expect a conviction here either.