Why People are Angry about the Trayvon Martin Shooting

By Josh Sager

Evidentiary Irregularities

1. There was no collection of forensics from the scene of the shooting; this is highly irregular and in direct contradiction of procedure for all suspicious deaths.
2. Police never tested the clothing worn by either Zimmerman or Martin for blood and gunshot residue to determine whether self-defense is even feasible.
3. Police ran a background check on Martin, the victim, but not Zimmerman, the shooter.
4. Zimmerman was allowed to leave the police station, with his gun and ammunition, before the police had even begun interviewing witnesses.
5. Zimmerman claimed to be the victim of a severe beating, yet police did not send him to the hospital for an evaluation (to check for skull fractures, concussion or intracranial bleeding); this means that either the police were negligent regarding Zimmerman’s health, or they did not believe his story about being beaten.

Investigative Irregularities

1. Despite the lead homicide detective recommending charges of manslaughter, the DA (who later resigned from the case) didn’t press charges – the rationale behind this decision is currently unknown.
2. The police logged Martin into the morgue as a John Doe, despite having his cell phone (which was ignored, even while his father was calling him numerous times), and didn’t contact his family for three days after the shooting.
3. According to several witnesses, police officers collecting statements “corrected” witnesses when they said that they heard Martin scream – this is directly contrary to police procedure.

Public Relations Irregularities

1. Several leaks, portraying Martin as a troubled child or a thug were released to the media from secure records – likely by the police – during the uproar over the lack of charges
2. Multiple, conflicting, stories were given by the police as to why Zimmerman was not arrested (ongoing investigation, self-defense, no probable cause), yet none of these were demonstrated to be true by the information we have now.

Perceived Misconduct

1. The lack of police action in response to a dead black child has caused a significant reaction by the black community, as this shooting is part of a pattern of disinterest in solving crimes where the victim is black.
2. Zimmerman’s father was a judge and his mother a legal secretary, leading many to see the lack of arrest in this case to be caused by preferential treatment.
3. Not until significant public outrage was directed at the shooting and lack of justice did the police seriously pursue arresting or charging Zimmerman – if this outrage had not erupted, the case would have likely disappeared without ever reaching the justice system.