ERDoc Posted July 15, 2013 Posted July 15, 2013 Based on what we have seen from the juries in Florida, I'm not surprised. This is one of those situations where there i single event that would have changed the outcome. That event was the decision to follow Martin. He sees a stranger following him in a car and then on foot. I think it could be argued that he was "standing his ground." Zimmerman set this whole fiasco into motion with his decision to disregard a direct order from the police to not follow the "prep". If he had listened to the police order, this whole thing would have ended at that point. I don't care if Zimmerman had a head lac or not. From what I have heard (I did not follow the trial very closely) it is reasonable to argue that Martin felt his safety was in jeopardy and was acting in self-defense. I also agree with Mari that we know a lot more than the jury did, so maybe it would change my opinion.
Kaisu Posted July 15, 2013 Posted July 15, 2013 I just want to mention that the jury was informed that a manslaughter verdict was allowed. Late in the deliberations, the jury requested clarification of the manslaughter statute. It is safe to assume that they did not find evidence to support the lesser charge either.
paramedicmike Posted July 15, 2013 Posted July 15, 2013 Had Zimmerman stayed in his car this could have been avoided, true. But he was not ordered not to follow Martin. The 911 call taker even testified during the trial that he was not, and call takers are not, allowed to order callers to do anything. This testimony is a minor point of fact at this point. But I think it's important to not become confused on the facts that were used to decide the case.
ERDoc Posted July 15, 2013 Posted July 15, 2013 (edited) OK, I stand corrected. I thought I had heard an audiotape of the 911 call that had the call taker telling him to stay in the car as the police were on the way. Sorry about that. EDIT: So, doing some more Monday morning quarterbacking, errr, investigating, there are copies of the transcript of Zimmerman's call to 911 that go something like this: Zimmerman: No you go in straight through the entrance and then you make a left, uh, you go straight in, don't turn, and make a left. (expletive) he's running. Dispatcher: He's running? Which way is he running? Zimmerman: Down towards the other entrance to the neighborhood. Dispatcher: Which entrance is that that he's heading towards? Zimmerman: The back entrance…(expletive)(unclear) Dispatcher: Are you following him? Zimmerman: Yeah. Dispatcher: Ok, we don't need you to do that. Zimmerman: Ok. Edited July 15, 2013 by ERDoc
Just Plain Ruff Posted July 15, 2013 Author Posted July 15, 2013 Dispatcher: Ok, we don't need you to do that. Zimmerman: Ok. Yet he still followed him and there you have it.
Kaisu Posted July 17, 2013 Posted July 17, 2013 Zimmerman is not in EMS. He does not have to obey the suggestion of a 911 dispatcher. Check out this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DL2xdwEKfEA
Just Plain Ruff Posted July 17, 2013 Author Posted July 17, 2013 I kind of remember not obeying a dispatcher many a time in ems as well. Like going to dinner when we were supposed to be posted on a specific street corner or other assorted things. ha ha
ERDoc Posted July 17, 2013 Posted July 17, 2013 Agreed he doesn't HAVE to obey it, but he SHOULD obey it and if he decides not to, he should be responsible for the results of his decision. As for personally disobeying a dispatcher, I would never go to a beach in East Hampton on a nice summer day when told to post for a discharge out of Southampton Hospital. I can't believe there are people out there that would do such a thing.
Just Plain Ruff Posted July 17, 2013 Author Posted July 17, 2013 Absolutely doc, when the Police department dispatcher tells you to do something, most normal people would say OK no problem. And they would follow those, but noooooooooooooo not george, he actually in the tape did say "OK" and then he went ahead and followed trayvon so he understood that he should have stopped and waited for the police but he had to be the zero to hero and save the day. And I would never also go to a movie marathon at the local cineplex when my dispatcher told us to head to our post. My saving grace was that we were the transfer car and we had the entire county to move around in. We could go virtually anywhere we wanted to as long as the motorola pager worked where we went. I'm not saying where else we went, and you can't force it out of me. But Doc, I'll bet you wouldn't be far off.
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