The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI announced late Monday they have opened an investigation into the shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
"The department will conduct a thorough and independent review of all of the evidence and take appropriate action at the conclusion of the investigation," the Justice Department said in a statement.
This comes on the heels of growing public outage in the wake of the case. Earlier today, the Congressional Black Caucus called on the Justice Department to investigate Trayvon's murder. The unarmed African-American teenager was killed in a gated community in Florida late last month.
Much of the focus now has been on the police in their decision not to press charges against the young man’s killer, George Zimmerman. Right now, he seems to be protected under Florida's “Stand Your Ground” law. In 2005, Florida was the first state to enact a law pushed by the National Rifle Association using the concept of standing your ground in self-defense.
Right before the deadly incident, Zimmerman placed a call to officials during a routine patrol regarding the “real suspicious” Martin, as the latter was returning from a snack trip to a local 7-Eleven. Despite warnings from the dispatcher not to follow the young man, Zimmerman left his vehicle and, according to other callers to 911 in the neighborhood, engaged in a wrestling match with Martin. A gun shot was heard, and Martin was later found dead on the scene. Zimmerman told police he acted in self-defense, and he has yet to be charged with a crime.
MSNBC’s Reverend Al Sharpton, during Monday evening’s edition of PoliticsNation, spoke with Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon. In response to Tracy Martin’s calls for justice, Sharpton lashed out at local officials saying, “I can’t for the life of me understand how they can justify not making an arrest! Arrest does not mean conviction, but there is probable cause here even with this law that we would question. This is a national outrage to many of us.” Reverend Sharpton assured Mr. Martin that he would not have to face this issue alone, and, indeed, it seems as if he will not have a lack of support in the near future.
As the facts and context of the case emerge, numerous public figures have spoken out about the perceived mishandling of both Zimmerman and the murder by the Sanford police department. Figures such as Russell Simmons, John Legend and New York Times writer Charles Blow are just some of the many that have called for greater attention on the case and, consequently, how U.S. citizens should remember and understand it.
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thank goodness! The locals obviously were not interested in justice for this young black guy (black being the operative word here!) What's it called? Being in public while black?
Zimmerman made the decision to harm Trayvon Martin and justice needs to be served. This law by the National Rifle Association "standing your ground in self-defense" is a crock of insult to Justice when a paranoid racial profiling maniac uses it to defend his unjustified act of murder. My heart goes out to this family for the senseless killing of their son.
It's time to start a movement to educate people who don't understand diversity
Zimmerman did not 'stand his ground'. He followed Travon (against the direction from the police). That is NOT 'standing you ground'.
DEAR PRESIDENT OBAMA
FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY AND THE SAKE OF THE NATION, please instruct the SECRET SERVICE to NOT put their faith in the Florida Police, especially the SANFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT when you visit that State and/or community (until they prove themselves worthy of that faith in how they treat/perceive the Trayvon Martin Murder).
HERE"S WHY:
The LAWS in the State of Florida: AND how Florida and/or the SANFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT interpret them (as demonstrated by their treatment of the TRAYVON MARTIN MURDER and of Zimmerman); AND how many CONSERVATIVES are portraying TRAYVON as the "THREAT" and Zimmerman as the VICTIM; AND how even "mainstream" Conservatives are portraying you as "not-American," "socialist," "communist," "fascist," "Muslim," "pro-terrorist," "Antichrist," etc. AND LITERALLY believe these things about you:
THEREFORE, it is plausible that Conservative FLORIDA POLICE could EXCUSE anyone who made an attempt on YOUR life based on the justification that they "PERCEIVED" YOU to be a "THREAT," both because of how Conservatives have maliciously and falsely portrayed you AND that you share the same "SALIENT" characteristic as TRAYVON MARTIN -- i.e., You're a BLACK MAN.
THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT. I KNOW your prayers and thoughts are with Trayvon's family as ours are with both them and you too. Amen.”
Thank you for covering this important story. Your commentary, last night, was very powerful! George Zimmerman should face the same punishment that he would if he had stalked and murdered a 17 year old girl! Additionally, the police chief needs to be FIRED. The American Justice system needs to send a very loud and clear message the handling of this case was totally unacceptable!
And while they are probing, there need to be a probe of the Mayberry RFD police department. It appears police department is familiar with Zimmerman and probably should have investigated Zimmerman to see if he was legit for the community neighborhood watch patrol. Zimmerman, alone call in over 50 reports. What about the other residents in neighborhood watch patrol? How many times had they called the police department to report trouble and do they have guns too? It is my understanding neighborhood watch patrols are not suppose to carry guns and the other watch patrol personnel probably did not have over 50 calls reported. This subvision has a responsibility also. Who appointed this fool and did they check his credentials? Too many things are wrong with this and it takes the death of someone to open eyes to see there is a wrong. Self defense; the boy was a resident of the subvision. He was suppose to be walking near his home. Police department or no police department, Zimmerman had already decided he was going to do harm to a person and he did.
It is good to see this action. Maybe the Administration will address all programs that license untrained individuals. The NRA has too much control over US policies making the US government bow down to irrational policies that freely support discrimination and unwarranted gun violence. This was in no means self protection. This was a murderer licensed to carry a weapon. The subdivision was equally guilty setting up any armed neighborhood protection.
I feel strongly that this unarmed boy was shot because of common racial microaggressions we all undoubtedly have. "Everyone is a little bit Racist" is funny to some but it is my belief that the most "un-racist" thing we can do is admit that we are a victim of the dispositions we were raised with. Our nation values their melting pot and values "equal opportunity," clearly we know that that is equality is not reality. This is when we as a white majority should reflect on the privileges we have and for people of color to recognize that they too share underlying subconscious distaste for certain individuals as well. It is the reasons disparities in education exist, It is the reason we say the asian that speaks the best english is the "good asian." When this man's father declared, "my son isn't racist, he is hispanic." Zimmerman justified his actions by stereotypically proclaiming the reason he shot young Trayvon was because he felt strongly the Ice-tea carrying black male was high on drugs.
I hope when the world sheds light on Trayvon they do so in a culturally competent way rather than continuing to point fingers. What Zimmerman was only act on the prejudices he had ingrained in him. We aren't born racist we are brought up racist (maybe its not the parents fault, it could be society), being discriminatory (categorical) is apart of who we are. It is up to us to deconstruct those dispositions before we end up having cultural misunderstandings like this. The best way to do that is discuss race with out offense, with out justification, and with open minds. Even more, instead of assumptions let us ask questions to the ones being targeted.
It hurts me to hear these excuses more than anything. If you read this and feel strongly (I am not a racist). If you only understood that less than 10% of the world makes up of people that are called "difference seekers". These are people who are fully immersed in culture, and easily and readily speak out on issues of race. These aren't men face booking, these aren't men blogging about wanting to change the world, these are men who are out in the street combating the war we will always have a blind eye turned to.
~"One Love"
I think this issue will have a long way to go. I advise the investigation team should try to make clear that racism is out of this case. They need not favour the killer by letting him go free because he is white. The killer need to face capital punishment if not I'm afraid this will lead to many other nagging stories.
After listening to the 911 tapes several times, I am of the persuasion that Zimmerman is a predatory killer. I believe his intention was to kill that young man before he placed the 911 call.
The look of disgust on Jonathan's face during much of the interview last night was very stirring. That we still have to deal with this kind of aggressive racism is deserving of the revulsion that was so apparent in Jonathan's reaction. The story makes me ill.
I don't understand how they could end the broadcast without getting more details about the call the family's attorney/Florida A&M law school professor was getting at that time. That was proof that either the "f-g coons" comment was illegally inserted into the 911 calls, or further evidence of a possible cover-up by the Samford Police Dept. After today's news of the same guy overseeing the uncalled for beating of the homeless man, added to the 3 F-G DAYS it took to even contact the boy's family, who knows what those incompetent if not corrupt cops at the Samford PD are capable of?
I sat and watched the 'Last Word' program tonight and the more I watched, the more disappointed and disgusted I got. I watched Lawrence O'Donnell make a huge fuss and proceed to express his feelings of how wrong this shooting and killing of this 17yr old Black boy was in Fla.. He talked about what a huge tragedy it is and how the security guard who shot him should be prosecuted for it. I sent MSNBC a story of an incident that took place in Baxley, Ga. on Feb. 19th 2012. I sent the local news article to every major network and every media outlet that I could think of the same week the incident took place and not one ever responded to me or bothered to report one word about the incident. It was like it never happened. The incident involved the murder of a highly decorated Iraq war veteran who served 3 tours before finally coming home and suffering from PTSD and being murdered in his own front yard in front of his family and friends by the Ga. State SWAT Team. This young veteran was 31yrs old and White. He put his life on the line 3 times in the war in Iraq for the people of this country only to come home and be Killed by them unjustly and no one seems to even care. I want to know why there is such a huge fuss being made about this 17yr old being gunned down by a security guard and not one word mentioned about a War Hero who was Murdered by a SWAT Team. Is it because James Dixon III was White and not Black like Trayvon Martin. Is that what your reporting is all about? Is it okay when a White War Hero and Decorated Veteran is gunned down but if a Black 17yr old kid gets shot and killed it's a National Tragedy. I think you really need to take a long look at your reporting practices and your priorities. James Dixon III never fired a shot at anyone on that Sunday morning, never even aimed at anyone in an attempt to shoot them, and never threatened to shoot anyone. He came out of his house like requested and had a shotgun by his side. He was told to drop the shotgun and when he didn't immediately drop it, SWAT Team sharpshooters made a deliberate Neck Shot with the sole purpose of an instant Kill. Not a disabling shot, a Deliberate Kill Shot. Please go to the links that I have provided below and read them. Then I would appreciate a response as to why you think the killing of Trayvon Martin is so obviously more important and more newsworthy than the deliberate Murder of James Dixon III. Please see the only news articles published on this awful Murder below;
GBI probes Iraq vet killed in Ga. SWAT shootout
By Terry Dickson
Morris News Service
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 7:31 AM
Last updated 7:07 PM
BAXLEY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is probing the weekend shooting death of an Iraq war veteran in an armed standoff in south Georgia’s Appling County.
FAMILY PHOTO/MORRIS NEWS SERVICE
James M. Dixon III, a former Marine and veteran of Iraq who was shot to death by a Georgia State Patrol SWAT team Sunday morning.
Neighbors of James M. Dixon III, 31, called the Sheriff’s Office about 3:50 a.m. Sunday to say someone had fired a shot through their house, Sheriff Bennie DeLoach said in a news statement.
Deputies went to Dixon’s house but decided for safety reasons to wait until daylight before confronting whoever fired the shot, DeLoach said.
As they waited, Dixon left the house and drove to his parents’ house about a half mile away on Holland Road Extension, Chief Deputy Lee J. Sweat Jr. said.
Deputies were not in position to stop Dixon but tried to stop him as he came back home, Sweat said.
“When he returned, he ran through a (partial) roadblock and we pursued him,’’ but Dixon made it back into his house, Sweat said.
The Georgia State Patrol SWAT team came to the scene and took over, and Dixon came outside the house just before 9 a.m. armed with a shotgun, DeLoach said.
When Dixon refused orders to put down the weapon, the SWAT team fired on him hitting him twice, Sweat said.
Dixon was taken to Appling HealthCare where he was pronounced dead on arrival, DeLoach said.
Dixon had served several tours in Iraq and had friends among the Appling County deputies, Sweat said.
“It’s a regrettable situation,’’ Sweat said.
Dixon’s older sister, Serran Aaron, said her brother suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was 100 percent disabled.
“He had a heart of gold. He would do anything for anybody,’’ she said.
After high school, her brother had enrolled at Georgia Southern University, earned a business administration degree, Aaron said.
“He graduated summa cum laude. He came home and told us he was signing up with the Marines. I was devastated, but he had talked about it since he was a child. He felt it was his duty to serve his country,’’ she said.
That duty took a toll changing him dramatically after three tours in Iraq and being wounded, she said.
Someone in the neighborhood had fired hundreds of shots Saturday “and I believe that unnerved him,’’ Aaron said.
Aaron said she got a call from her mother at 5:30 a.m. Sunday asking her to come quickly and she drove there to find her brother was having a flashback as he had once before since his discharge.
“He would really think he was in Iraq. He would say, ‘They’re coming. Don’t you hear them outside? Get down,’ ’’ Aaron said.
She also said that being confronted by the huge number of officers made her brother more apprehensive if anything.
While the officers were outside his house, Aaron said she was in near constant cellphone contact with her brother, but that the 38 calls she made in a two-hour period often got dropped because they live in a rural area.
He told her once that he was putting his medals on, she said.
She had tried to talk him into coming outside without his shotgun, the only weapon he owned, but he responded as if he were in combat saying, “I can’t go out there unarmed,’’ she said.
An Appling County deputy was taking her to the scene, but she wasn’t allowed to get close enough to talk to him, Aaron said.
She saw her brother outside the house with his gun down and was yelling hoping he could hear her, Aaron said.
Then an officer ordered her onto the ground, and then she heard the shots, Aaron said.
Aaron said she is talking to anyone who will listen because it is clear that law enforcement is trained to deal with criminals, not people like her brother.
Asked what kinds of medals her brother had, Aaron said she only recognized his Purple Heart among the many blooded ribbons and medals she was given Monday.
Meanwhile, the Marines are mourning with the Dixon family and supporting them, she said.
The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Memorial Freewill Baptist Church in Surrency, she said.
The GBI’s Douglas office, which is investigating the shooting, would not comment.
Reach terry.dickson@jacksonville.com, (912) 264-0405
Dying for peace
Posted by Staff Writerin Columns
Wednesday, February 29. 2012
Comments (17)
On Sunday morning, February 19, 2012, James Dixon III, was shot down in his own front yard by a Georgia State Patrol SWAT team called in to assist our sheriff’s department. He died here at home at the hands of his own countrymen. He should have been safe here as he worked with the VA doctors to overcome the terrors of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. But something went intolerably wrong on that black Sunday.
James arrived in a solid family when he was born to Sue and Jimmy Dixon on May 17, 1981. The Dixons raised their children to believe in God, country and family. James’ parents gave him the best they had to offer, including a strong work ethic and the will to succeed at whatever he attempted.
James Dixon III
An old African proverb says that it takes a village to raise a child. James was very much a product of this southern county, too. He blazed his way through the Appling County School System, and I’m proud to have taught him. I knew him before he sat in my classroom though. He and my son Josh were friends long before high school. When he did arrive in my class, he came laughing. However, he knew when to be serious, too. He graduated number three in his class, but his excellence didn’t stop with academics. He played in the Pirate Brigade Marching Band. When he donned the pads of the Pirate football team, he joined the band at halftime. He held a part-time job. He was a paragon of adolescence, the teen every parent dreams of rearing.
Then the Class of 1999 marched across Jimmy Swain Stadium and scattered like seeds in the wind. I heard from James occasionally. James was thriving at Georgia Southern and earned a Masters Degree in Business Education. Josh brought me the news that James had joined the marines, but even as my heart dropped, pride arose.
James served 3 tours of duty in Iraq before he came back home with an array of awards: a Purple Heart in addition to the Combat Action Ribbon, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Meritorious Mast, Navy Unit Commendation, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Certificate of Commendation, Iraq Campaign Medal, National Defense Medal, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. James Dixon III exemplifies the word hero.
When he came home for the final time after being injured, he brought Iraq with him. His mind was unable to leave it behind. He suffered flashbacks.
“Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome,” the VA doctors said, as they attempted to fix it. But things set James off, things like the sound of gunfire, for example, which may have triggered that Saturday night/Sunday morning fiasco.
Someone in the neighborhood had fired hundreds of shots on Saturday. The huge number of officers outside his house probably didn’t help either.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Safety, the SWAT team provides a highly trained and skilled tactical team as a resource for all law enforcement agencies in Georgia. This expertise is used in the resolution of critical incidents in an effort to reduce the risk of injury or loss of life to citizens, police officers, and suspects. The plan failed James miserably. Yes, he had a gun, but surely those experts could have shot to disable, not to kill. With the current technology, they must have had many non-lethal means at their disposal. Since he refused to put down his gun, the SWAT team had the legal power to kill, not the moral right. There’s a monumental difference.
James was no criminal; he was a hero.
I’m going to miss James’ smile around town, the hug he gave me whenever I ran into him. I’ll always remember him fondly, but my heart will break when I think of his death. James came home for peace and recuperation, but he had to die to find them. How many more wounded warriors will have to die before we demand change? James is at peace now, but I hope that peace eludes the rest of us until we force change to occur in law enforcement. Training exists for such crises. It is essential that every single officer in this county be trained immediately. We have an enormous duty to our walking wounded. After all, they were wounded in service to us. May there never be another situation like James’ here.