PS: if they have a case to determine if TM's civil rights were violated, the
prosecution will focus on GZ's report, nominal look for TM's whereabouts on the
other side of the block and halfway back, and confrontation, and claim the motive
was implicit racism. That's clearer when there's no apparent motive for someone
to hassle someone of a different race, in this case an African American.
Defense will say GZ was trained to report someone walking around without appar-
ent purpose on people's lawns at night in the rain. TM seems to have chosen a
property on the north side of the block for privacy for a phone call instead of
his father's back yard to the south. GZ didn't identify by race till asked.
GZ went to the other side of the block for an address to give the police admit-
ting he was still curious where TM went. But he's recorded as wanting the police
to handle it.
If we look for an extra motive for GZ's look for TM's whereabouts, the most ap-
parent choice would be TM's stare-down, confirmed by Jeantel as unfriendly.
TM's insensitive remark to her about someone of another ethnicity wasn't years
ago but during the event in question. GZ started saying there's something off
about TM, he was acting like an a**hole--a tough guy--a punk, a reaction someone
of the same race would likely have, when TM acted territorial about an area that
wasn't his territory with his stare-down and confrontational approach. GZ's
reaction indicates that made TM seem to be acting oddly even more to him.
GZ claims to have given up determining TM's whereabouts and was returning to
his truck when TM appeared. Jeantel has TM claim GZ was following him, but even
if we open up the possibilities of the paths of the two men TM could have been
home or mostly there instead of no farther south by this time if he wanted to be.
The one who made the initial insensitive comment or got physical first are un-
certain. We're more sure of events once we have TM using his knees to pin GZ's
arms to the ground while punching his face.
Prosecution will have to show there was no apparent reasonable motive for the
report or look on the parallel street, then make a case that, beyond a doubt,
racism is left as the ulterior motive. Such things happen, and it's important
we try to diminish how often, but I don't know how the prosecution expects to win
their case with these people as the examples.
Another bunch of money will be spent for the protesters, Sharpton, Jackson,
etc., who won't get what they want again, get upset again, and we'll foot the
bill again.
