17 yo Trayvon Martin Shot to Death by Neighborhood Watch Captain #18

[i.b.nora]

Bonaparte puts it in his open letter, and then ends the letter that he "trusts this information is helpful to you" (the citizens). He's standing by that information in his open letter, even though the questions were initially answered by LE, they were included in his informational piece.

Since Bonaparte is the city manager, and this letter is on the official city website, I think you can infer that this open letter is the position of the City management.

Would you be so kind as to supply a link to Norton Bonaparte, Jr's. Open Letter, because I dont see it.
All I see is a link to the 'letter' or 'questionaire' that Bonaparte submitted to Chief Lee regarding frequently asked questions about "the recent incident where George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin."

 

[CHICANA]

Based on the police report, George kept his gun in its holster, INSIDE his waistband, so I am not sure how it could have been exposed to viewing by Trayvon unless George pulled it out of his holster. IF Trayvon actually saw it. Just thinking.

I don't think TM would have attacked GM if he had seen a gun. If TM did jump GZ, I believe the account that TM saw the gun while TM was on top of him.

 

[vlpate]

Identifying deceased persons - don't you have to identify the body at a morgue? The full body, not a horrible picture. Having a hard time getting past LE showing a picture of Trayvon looking that way. Please tell me this is not SOP!

 

[JeannaT]

Would you be so kind as to supply a link to Norton Bonaparte, Jr's. Open Letter, because I dont see it.
All I see is a link to the 'letter' or 'questionaire' that Bonaparte submitted to Chief Lee regarding frequently asked questions about "the recent incident where George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin."

It's the first item up on the official City of Sanford Website.

It begins "Dear Citizens". The PDF when you click to read the entire thing begins "Fellow Citizens".

http://www.sanfordfl.gov/index.html

 

[CHICANA]

I read that a grand jury is required for a 1st-degree murder charge in Florida... I hope they're given this case & they decide that's one of the charges, I believe George planned to kill Trayvon when he starting following him. JMO.

Why ?

 

[Peliman]

Has there been any mention of possible riots if he is arrested?

Who will riot?

I've seen no marches or organized demonstrations in support of GZ.

I'll say this, if and when they call in the national guard it's time to go home.

 

[RANCH]

BBM

In the following statement Bonaparte is saying what the officer said.





In one of the initial meetings with the father of the victim the investigator related to
him the account that Mr. Zimmerman provided of the incident. At that time the
investigator said that Mr. Zimmerman portrayed himself to be “squeaky clean”.



Now to your second question. Zimmerman had a violent arrest record. Why wouldn't the cop tell Mr. Martin that and just leave him with the account of Zimmerman saying he was squeaky clean?

Maybe the investigator added something like "We have information that this isn't true" and Mr Martin misconstrued this and thought he said "We have information that this is true". Just a guess on my part.

 

[CathyinTexas]

By that token TM had an incident in which he had jewlery that wasn't his and a burglary tool...yet that is clearly disregarded when it is relevant to whether he may have been casing homes. That's considered "bashing" though. TM had a criminal background as well, but with no convictions.

The difference is that TM was not arrested or charged so it is nothing more than hearsay or it was found not to be his. GZ, on the other hand, physically assaulted an identified police officer and even said he didn't care who he was. He was arrested, but once again, not charged, so he got out of the punishment of his actions. There is a big difference between their backgrounds, imo.

 

[JeannaT]

I'll say this, if and when they call in the national guard it's time to go home.

Um hm. That's always sound advice. ;D

 

[gxm]

IMO, they are running defense options up a flagpole and seeing how they fly.
It is cheaper to just mention it in a TV interview than to pay a focus group.

JMO, I don't see much in common with between a 2 month old infant and a 28yo man.
Most 28yo's are able to control their head, hold their head up, and move it away. They can also roll over, stand, walk, run, and they are generally kinda hard to pick up and shake.

I agree that they are trying out defense strategies. But having been attacked in a similar manner as GZ has claimed, I find the description believable. GZ was more evenly matched than I was, but it is hard (impossible for me) to stand, walk, or run when your attacker is on top of you slamming your head into the floor by violently shaking your shoulders (they pick you up at your shoulders and then slam you back down). Because I've been in a similar situation, I find GZ's fear of brain injury to be one of the most believable aspects of his story.

JMO, OMO, and :moo:

 

[atthelake]

Thanks Beach - And if you guys shut down for the holiday, ok by me as you folks have been overworked I'm sure.

Right now, this is on the 18th thread and I can't keep up with facts due to so many posts. I know that there is one thread that is ONLY for posting of news, and without comments. Can you let us all know if/when you separate out topical threads for this so those that want to truly sleuth on a subject can have a place to go to post and to have as a reference for subjects at a later time. I've wanted to look for a specific item, and did indeed try to search but couldn't find in this morass of postings in the 18 threads so far.

Thanks for all you mods do! Take the weekend off!

BBM

I take issue with the bolded statement. These things have been discussed here ad nauseum. As well as the not flattering incidents from GZ's past.


*******************************************************

Mod Note:


To everyone participating in this tiresome back & forth -

STOP THE FLIPPIN' "RIGHT FIGHTING" HERE.

I am sick of it. It does NOTHING except incite arguments and bickering amongst members who disagree. Both sides have advocates who are more concerned about being right than actually sleuthing to determine the facts.

If you guys can't be mature enough to adopt the simple "Agree to disagree" approach, we will help solve that issue.

It is Easter weekend. Mods are exhausted from this case alone. One way or another these threads are going to take a more tolerant, civil, respectful tone. We will simply TO those who continue to bait, incite and post inflammatory remarks when the intention is to ellicit visceral responses from the other side of the fence.

Mods are going to be given a break this holiday weekend. It is up to you guys if you would like to be here or not.

 

[Reader]

"Shaken Baby Syndrome" used in defense of Trayvon Martin's killer

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/na...da-shootingbre8350d5-20120406,0,1690924.story

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - "Shaken Baby Syndrome" was cited on Friday in the defense of George Zimmerman, the Sanford, Florida, man who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, in a case that has sparked a widespread public outcry.

Hal Uhrig, a lawyer and formerGainesville, Florida, police officer who recently joined Zimmerman's defense team, cited in a TV interview the brain damage that can seriously injure or kill an infant.

His point, which has been made before, was that Zimmerman contends he shot Martin in self defense and feared for his life after the 17-year-old attacked him and began pounding his head into the concrete pavement of a gated community on a rainy evening in Sanford on February 26.

More at link....


Where are the medical records to verify this? A lawyer's guess does not mean anything about proof. To me this is just another excuse for 'no blood'. IMO

 

[vlpate]

BBM

In the following statement Bonaparte is saying what the officer said.





In one of the initial meetings with the father of the victim the investigator related to
him the account that Mr. Zimmerman provided of the incident. At that time the
investigator said that Mr. Zimmerman portrayed himself to be “squeaky clean”.



Now to your second question. Zimmerman had a violent arrest record. Why wouldn't the cop tell Mr. Martin that and just leave him with the account of Zimmerman saying he was squeaky clean?

I only know about the arrest for assault on the plain clothes officer that was dropped. Were there other arrests?

 

[daisy7]

Bonaparte puts it in his open letter, and then ends the letter that he "trusts this information is helpful to you" (the citizens). He's standing by that information in his open letter, even though the questions were initially answered by LE, they were included in his informational piece.

Since Bonaparte is the city manager, and this letter is on the official city website, I think you can infer that this open letter is the position of the City management.

The letter states that Chief Lee was asked these questions and the below are his responses. I believe this is just stating what Chief Lee said, not that this is the position of of the City of Stanford. And, since Chief Lee was given a vote of "no confidence" by the City Commissioners, I'm thinking they don't agree with his claims as stated in this letter.

JMO.

 

[CHICANA]

The difference is that TM was not arrested or charged so it is nothing more than hearsay or it was found not to be his. GZ, on the other hand, physically assaulted an identified police officer and even said he didn't care who he was. He was arrested, but once again, not charged, so he got out of the punishment of his actions. There is a big difference between their backgrounds, imo.

GZ wasn't convicted of anything either, so what's the difference ? The officer was undercover and GZ didn't know he was a cop. He thought he just another guy in a bar bothering his friend. It's not like he went out and hit an identified uniformed officer. And I read that he shoved him, which IMO isn't exactly a serious physical assault. Where is the version that describes an identified PO and GZ saying he didn't care who he was ?

 

[lauriej]

I agree that is very powerful statement to make defending a police officers word against a grieving fathers word.

But Mr. Bonaparte fails to give a reasonable explanation why a cop would only be repeating a lie told to them by a homicide suspect to a grieving father and not tell him that was a lie and tell him the truth.

Nowhere in that statement does Mr. Bonaparte say the police officer told him the truth about Zimmerman's record. He just claims the officer said well Mr. Zimmerman told us he had a squeaky clean record. Now why in the world would the cop ever tell Mr. Martin that and not tell him it was a lie and Zimmerman did have a record.



Why was George Zimmerman labeled as “squeaky clean” when in fact he has
a prior arrest history?
In one of the initial meetings with the father of the victim the investigator related to
him the account that Mr. Zimmerman provided of the incident. At that time the
investigator said that Mr. Zimmerman portrayed himself to be “squeaky clean”. We
are aware of the background information regarding both individuals involved in this
event. We believe Mr. Martin may have misconstrued this information.



http://www.sanfordfl.gov/investigation/docs/Zimmerman_Martin_shooting.pdf

--those answers are not given by Mr. Bonaparte.

--from bonaparte's letter:

"In an effort to continue to be as responsive as possible to the public seeking information on
the incident, I have asked Chief Lee to provide answers to some of the most frequently​

asked questions regarding this matter. Below are his responses."

 

[Kimster]

Please remember that blogs are considered rumor most of the time. Just a FYI from outer space. :kimsterwink:

 

[JeannaT]

The letter states that Chief Lee was asked these questions and the below are his responses. I believe this is just stating what Chief Lee said, not that this is the position of of the City of Stanford. And, since Chief Lee was given a vote of "no confidence" by the City Commissioners, I'm thinking they don't agree with his claims as stated in this letter.

JMO.

I can't imagine a circumstance where a city manager, in this case Bonaparte, would voluntarily compose and sign an open letter to the public and post it on the city's official website if it contained information he didn't believe.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

I agree that they are trying out defense strategies. But having been attacked in a similar manner as GZ has claimed, I find the description believable. GZ was more evenly matched than I was, but it is hard (impossible for me) to stand, walk, or run when your attacker is on top of you slamming your head into the floor by violently shaking your shoulders (they pick you up at your shoulders and then slam you back down). Because I've been in a similar situation, I find GZ's fear of brain injury to be one of the most believable aspects of his story.

JMO, OMO, and :moo:

BBM

Not the same thing. They are saying ground now and we know it was wet ground.

 

[Peliman]

Me thinks the GZ's defense is running things up the flag pole to see what gets shot at. I also have to wonder about things like what if GZ is telling the truth about being jumped and having his head slammed, if it was me I'd be (oops pizzed) and not thinking very clearly (probably) I may react and the person may not like the results.

I don't know the circumstances about what happened with GZ. I'm trying to weigh this whole incident on legal issues.