Tuesday, March 27, 2012

What If...

This blog is a "what if" scenario of the Trayvon Martin shooting.

Background: Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old teenager that was walking home from a store after taking a break from watching the NBA All Star game. He was staying with his father and future step mother who live in gated middle class community in Sanford Florida. On his way home from the store on his cell phone and carrying an iced tea and a bag of skittles he encountered a "self-proclaimed" town watch person. We do not know exactly what happened with the encounter except that the 17 year old armed only with a bottle of iced tea and skittles was involved in an altercation with the town watch person who was armed with a 9mm semi automatic. At the end of the altercation Trayvon lay dead face down on the ground with the town watch person standing over him. After onlookers roused from their homes by the sound of someone "whining" and then a single gun shot called out to the town watch person several times asking what was going on he calmly said "call 911". When the police arrived Trayvon Martin was bagged and tagged along with his personal effects (including his phone) and sent to the morgue where he was tested for drugs, alcohol and left unidentified for 3 days. Left unidentified for three days while his active cell phone carried numerous phone numbers of friends and relatives. where the last phone number and time of call coincided with the time of the encounter. And yet, with all their investigative prowess no one looked in the phone and attempted to identify this 17 year old male who, they now know, had no drugs or alcohol in his system and, had no finger prints "in the system" meaning he had No Record of arrest or encounters with a law enforcement agency. Rewind...
Back to that night... when the police arrive on the scene the town watch person claims that he was attacked. Claims that he shot this kid in self defense. That he had no alternative but to shoot this 17 year old kid armed with a bottle of iced tea, a bag of skittles and a cell phone. Had no alternative but to shoot this kid that weighed about 130 pounds even though he is a seemingly well conditioned 28 year old out weighing Trayvon Martin by 100 pounds easy. Had no alternative but to use deadly force, couldn't pin the kid to the ground, couldn't even knock him out. Was so afraid for his life, so afraid of this 130 pound 17 year old armed with a bottle of iced tea, skittles and cell phone that he had no alternative but to shoot this kid point blank with one of the deadliest hand guns an individual can carry. The town watch person who has not been seen, photographed, arrested or fully interrogated by the police said that he was injured that he suffered a broken nose and head injury as a result of his head "being banged against the sidewalk several times". No paramedics where called. No pictures of the town watch person were taken. There is no emergency room visit. There is no documentation of these injuries other than the town watch person's personal account. So we don't see him with the usual blackened eyes that follow a serious nose break. There is no MRI ensuring that after having his "head banged against the sidewalk several times" that there is no subdural hematoma, no slow bleed, no brain injury. How would the police substantiate the claims if needed when there is no documentation of the injuries.

The town watch person, George Zimmerman, is allowed to go home, afterall he didn't have a police record. Once in hiding he shares with his friends that he "cried for several days" over this incident.

Trayvon Martin is dead. His parents are crying.

Trayvon Martin is black. The town watch person, George Zimmerman, is white.

So

WHAT IF....

What if when Trayvon Martin was walking home from the store with his bottle of iced tea and skittles while talking on the phone the same encounter occurred but, what if once the altercation ensued Trayvon wrestled the town watch person's 9mm semi automatic away and, in the subsequent scuffle the gun discharged striking George Zimmerman in the chest killing him on the spot. What if when this occurred folks roused from their home by the ruckus run and hear a young black boy say calmly call 911 as he straddles the fallen town watch person.
What would have happened when the police arrive and still in shock Trayvon has the gun in his hand. Do you think he would have even had the chance to explain what happened. After all, you would have a 17 year black kid standing over a dead white man; one hand to his head the other still gripping the gun, and, he is not even aware he even had the gun and, that it is still in hand... in his confusion... police yelling "drop the gun! drop the gun!" bright lights shining he raises his hands above his head (gun still in hand) there is hail of gunfire.

Headline - Black youth killed by Police in shoot out after murdering town watch captain.

What if...

What if when the altercation ensued Trayvon and the town watch person fought with both of them gripping the 9mm; it discharges and George Zimmerman lays dead. Trayvon bleeding and bruised sits on the curb head in hands sobbing, neighbors roused by the ruckus race to the scene and call 911. The police arrive Trayvon is pushed to the ground handcuffed... he is explaining he is staying in the community, he was walking from the store, the guy just jumped him, he fought he doesn't know where the gun came from he was fighting for his life he was defending his life (he was standing his ground). Handcuffed he is slammed around and then thrown in the back of the police care whisked down town, his parent is called he is interrogated for hours and charged with murder with bail set at $1million cash. The white community is outraged... there is a run on gun sales.... candidates politicize the situation... it is Obama's fault....

Headline - Black youth murders town watch captain in cold blood; town watch captain was pursuing burglary suspect at time.

What if...


What if when the town watch person spotted Trayvon he did his town watch duty and called 911 and stayed in his car or at his post as advised by the 911 dispatcher.

What if George Zimmerman didn't desire so badly to be a peace officer that he carried a concealed deadly weapon and, that he allowed those trained to do that job handle the situation.

What if George Zimmerman, who according to his black friend isn't capable of racism, exercised good judgment that night instead of vigilante-ism.

What if Trayvon was white.

Trayvon would still be alive.