Trayvon Martin Shot: Was His Assailant Drunk?
Seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin simply wanted to get Skittles for his younger brother, Chad. He never expected that the trip would end up costing him his life. New calls between the shooter, George Zimmerman, and 911 show that he deliberately disobeyed an order to remain in his car and not follow Martin.
As new information becomes available, the facts of the case become a bit clearer, but the Sanford Police Department is still attempting to learn exactly how a 17-year-old, unarmed boy could have been shot and killed by a member of his Neighborhood Watch group.
Chief Bill Lee confirmed to the Huffington Post that Trayvon was, in fact, unarmed when approached by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, captain of the area's Neighborhood Watch. "For some reason, he felt that Trayvon, the way that he was walking or appeared, seemed suspicious to him," Lee said.
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"This guy looks like he is up to no good," Zimmerman can be heard telling a 911 dispatcher. "He is on drugs or something." After reporting that the teen had his hand in his waistband, Zimmerman tells the dispatcher, "These a-------. They always get away."
Despite a direct order from the dispatcher not to follow Martin, Zimmerman pursued him. What happened next is still a bit unclear, but an altercation led to Trayvon being shot and killed by Zimmerman's gun.
The 911 tapes reveal that the two men began fighting. "They're wrestling right in the back of my porch. The guy's yelling 'help' and I'm not going out," one caller says.
Another caller reports that shots have been fired. "There's gun shots. Uh, I'm pretty sure the guy is dead out here."
ABC News reported that Trayvon's family was the first to hear the eight tapes, though the public will soon be able to hear them for themselves.
"He felt the need to defend himself. I don't think it was his intent to go and shoot somebody," Lee concluded. However, Trayvon's family feels that there is more to the story and that the fact that Trayvon was African-American and Zimmerman Caucasian could have led to profiling.
"He was a good kid," said family lawyer Ben Crump. "On his way home, a Neighborhood Watch loose cannon shot and killed him. What do police find in his pocket? Skittles. A can of Arizona ice tea in his jacket pocket and Skittles in his front pocket for his brother Chad."
In speaking with reporters, Crump argued that Zimmerman "didn't have to get out of his car. If he never gets out of his car, there is no reason for self-defense. Tryavon only has Skittles. He has the gun. Why is this kid suspicious in the first place? I think a stereotype must have been placed on the kid."
New reports also show that Zimmerman was not administered a Breathalyzer or toxicology screen, even though it is the protocol for shootings. Rod Wheeler, a law enforcement expert, told ABC News that Zimmerman sounded intoxicated in the 911 calls.
"When I listened to the 911 tape, the first thing that came to my mind is 'this guy sounds intoxicated.' Notice how he's slurring his words. We as trained law enforcement officers, we know how to listen for that right away, and I think that's going to be an important element of this entire investigation."
Family members are calling for the FBI to take over the case and charge Zimmerman with murder, but the state's department has not decided what to do yet. It will continue its own investigation before taking it to a judge, who will then decide whether to hand the case over to higher authorities.
Zimmerman remains free as of press time, though there are several petitions calling for his arrest.
