Sanford, Florida police chief Bill Lee announced today he will temporarily step down from his post. He's been heavily criticized for leading a botched investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed 17-year-old, Trayvon Martin.
Protected under the state's "Stand Your Ground" law, the shooter George Zimmerman has yet to be arrested.
Did police follow proper procedure in this situation? On Wednesday's show, John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and former NYPD detective Eugene O'Donnell broke down what cops should have done differently at the scene of the crime.
1). Questioning Zimmerman more
"The police appeared to leave the playing field, if you read the reports. They got into the business of first aid which is obviously crucial when life is in the balance. Their job is also to find the truth. There's actually a part on one of those police reports where the second officer specifically says, I did not talk to Mr. Zimmerman about this...The person who can speak best about this is lying dead. You have another individual. You're going to try to lock him in before he has a chance to create some varnish on his story or to think about invoking his constitutional rights. That's fundamental police work, trying to get his account then and there. And it appears if you read that report the police had some inexplicable disinterest, almost, to try to get to the bottom of this case."
2). Probable cause to make an arrest
"If police work is anything it's doing justice in a homicide case when somebody who cannot speak for himself is there. There were plenty of facts available immediately. The whole idea of his involvement as an armed community watch person having been told not to get involved, gets involved, there's lots of reasons to have probable cause to make an arrest."
3). Greater sense of urgency
"This guy is accused of a homicide. There's a theoretical threat to the community. There is an urgency to do that. That can always be — those charges can always be dropped later. It's not some gigantic standard. Is there probable cause in this case? When you take the facts that were immediately available there's clearly probable cause in this case. Even though the law is a goofy law that creates some gray areas that shouldn't be there the police should have acted courageously and made an arrest then and there."
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Did they even confiscate his weapons???
On a side note Mr. O'Donnell I would say this,... Why do police and prosecutor NEVER, EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER.. ! Apologize? What is inerrant about the position that allows one to remain so self righteous with indignation as to remain blameless without culpability? There are FEW instances where a prosecutor or officer has apologized for willful acts of wrong doing. When an innocent man is exonerated is there usually an apology? Does a prosecutor continue prosecuting one who they know is innocent but has already been charged? Hmmm. Indeed.
You see what bothers me is this holier than thou assumption that police and D.A.'s are as good as God. On par with the pope. Perfection as equal as Jesus. But we KNOW this is not the case. NO man is perfect. None! Yet even with worldly evidence so many places in this country of injustice they still act as though they are unquestionable. Always correct and in the right. But we are all to believe an average citizen then by extension is ALWAYS wrong? Hmm. "Christians" should be ware of blindly supporting the right and officers as though they always are doing what is right. Only God is perfect and simply because one may have a God complex does not make him so. Officers and D.A.'s are men and women flesh and blood prone to a baffling amount of mistakes. It is time we all treat THEM as such and demand better for the lackluster jobs they all do. ; ]
Cheers
Yeah but it was later returned. What a clusterfucck. Poor kid. Didn't deserve to die for a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea.
Again, the question I didn't hear Lawrence get an answer to was, sure, then-and-there they should have arrested him, but WhyTF not NOW?
Really. Why not Here and Now? If there was probable cause 22 days ago, isn't that probable cause here today? Why is this guy still walking the streets?
Special prosecutors, Musical chairs with the Police head. Panels to investigate the law, a grand jury off in April.
Why is it so hard to just send a black and white and read Zimmerman his rights before he goes around "protecting the community" any more. How about a little protection of the community against vigilantes? Let the judge figure out if he is guilty or not.
How about a little neighborhood watch on Zimmerman? What kind of "serve and protect" police work is this? Sanford PD: who are you serving? Who are you protecting?
So, what happened each time when Sanford police responded since early last year when George Zimmerman reportedly called 911 almost four dozen times, close to once a week?
The 911 call on the night Trayvon Martin was killed was finally released, but I'd like to know what happened all the other times police responded to Zimmerman calling 911? Did he ever accost anyone at gunpoint, conducting a citizens arrest, holding a "suspicious character" until police arrived? Were there ever any arrests?
I believe we could tell what pattern, if any, there was beforehand relative to Zimmerman calling 911, then chasing down someone. Were any other black citizens the target of Zimmerman?
Only the release of these 911 calls from early last year will answer this question, if the Sanford police haven't destroyed them.
Did anybody confiscate the gun? Is this freak still armed?
Yep- he's still armed.
Not only is he still armed, but you will note very few mentions on air of the NRA's role in getting laws passed to allow citizens to carry concealed handguns, but getting laws like this "Make my day" law that encourage firing guns at other citizens.
The more homocides, the more demand for guns. Quaint business model.
It seems those who passed this "hold your ground" Law want us to arm ourselves before leaving the house. Had Trayvon Martin armed himself with a pistol he could have shot curious, vigilante, George Zimmerman, instead of just yelling for help. Wonder how that would go over with Florida lawmakers? I can see the headlines now. "Black teen in hoodie shoots vigilante while walking home from the store - Police let him go free after claiming self defense." The NRA doesn't encourage firing guns at each other, they just takes us back to where disputes and hatreds are solved by shooting one another. I guess we can partially blame this travesty on the governor brother of our x President who is a self proclaimed "waring President." We get what we vote for. Maybe we can do better.
We are still fighting the Civil War and emancipation. I am so tired of hearing of these injustices all my life. I blame FOX News for actively supporting bigotry and right-wing paranoia.
As an active-duty soldier, I lived among all races and served in countries of different cultures. No race has a claim to rightousness. I have seen criminals in all colors, heard stupidity from all colors, and witnessed greatness in all colors.
So, here's a 28-year-old who lives with his parents, has spent nine years attending the same junior college without earning a degree, has called 911 nearly 50 times in the last year to report on kids playing in the street, potholes, an open garage door, and "suspicious" people, all of whom just happen to be black. You think this loser wannabe would have left his vehicle to confront someone without a weapon in his fat fist? So, yes, gun freaks--it IS about the gun.
I have been a long time fan and supporter of MSNBC. I didn't like or agree with what was done to Keith Olbermann when he was forced out, and I don't like one bit the way this racist hate mongering is being handled by the MSNBC Network and specifically by Lawrence O'Donnell. I am disgusted in the manner this whole incident is being handled by all of MSNBC. You are out and out shouting convictions of people who have not even been charged with anything, let alone been convicted in a United States Of American Court Of Law. You ought to all be ashamed of yourselves for what you are doing. I always thought you were much better than FOX Network and their Biased broadcasting, but I now know that you are not better but in fact worse. I am one long time viewer and backer of MSNBC Network that will never again tune my TV to this network, and will advise everyone I know to do likewise. This is truly the poorest and most disgusting handling of the news that I have ever seen.