Archive for the ‘George Zimmerman’ Category

Arrests are down in Los Angeles and across California (Is the Ferguson Effect responsible?) – Hot Air

posted at 8:31 pm on April 1, 2017 by John Sexton

There has been a significant decline in arrests in Los Angeles even as crime is rising in the city. Today the LA Times looks at what is behind the drop in arrests:

The arrest data include both felonies and misdemeanors crimes ranging from homicide to disorderly conduct. From 2010 to 2015, felony arrests made by Los Angeles police officers were down 29% and misdemeanor arrests were down 32%.

Two other measures of police productivity, citations and field interviews, have also declined significantly.

The 2016 numbers arent available yet but an Assistant Chief with the LAPD tells the Times the number of arrests has continued to decline. Similar declines were seen in other big cities including San Diego. The result is that the overall number of arrests in California is at its lowest level in nearly 50 years.

The LA Times doesnt say the so-called Ferguson Effect, i.e. police pulling back to avoid becoming the next viral video, is responsible, but some of its reporting certainly fits with that explanation:

In a nationwide survey conducted in 2016 by the Pew Research Center, 72% of the law enforcement officers questioned said their colleagues were less likely to stop and question suspicious people as a result of high-profile incidents involving blacks and the police.

Police officers and sheriffs deputies interviewed by The Times echoed that view.

Everyone is against whatever law enforcement is doing, so that makes an officer kind of hesitant to initiate contact, said one LAPD officer, who has worked in South L.A. for more than a decade and requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. A lot of guys will shy away from it because weve got the dash cams, weve got the body cams. We dont want it to come back on us.

A motorcycle deputy named George Hofstetter tells the Times, Not to make fun of it, but a lot of guys are like, Look, Im just going to act like a fireman. Im going to handle my calls for service and the things that I have to do. He added, But going out there and making traffic stops and contacting persons who may be up to something nefarious? Im not going to do that anymore.

The picture of what is happening isnt quite as simple as it sounds, though. For one thing, the decline in arrests began before the shooting of Mike Brown in 2014 made police shootings a national issue. That would seem to suggest that something else was motivating the decline or, at a minimum, that other factors were involved.

It may be the case that other factors play a role, including a recent ballot proposition that downgraded some drug offenses. However, the LA Times fails to note that the public issue of police handling of shootings involving black men really began two years earlier with the Trayvon Martin case. Martin was shot by George Zimmerman, not by police, but there was widespread anger at the police starting early in 2012 for failing to arrest Zimmerman for what many considered a murder rather than self-defense.

In March the local police chief was pressured into stepping down from his job over criticism that he was failing to handle the case appropriately. The NAACP wrote to then Attorney General Eric Holder expressing a lack of faith in the local police and asking for federal oversight of the case. And months later, it was in response to the verdict freeing Zimmerman that the phrase Black Lives Matter initially arose.

The climate toward police began to sour well before the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, so its possible the views of police officers around the country toward going the extra mile also began to change well before 2014.

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Arrests are down in Los Angeles and across California (Is the Ferguson Effect responsible?) - Hot Air

Trayvon Martin’s Mom Just Can’t Stop Lying About Her Son’s Death – Bearing Arms

Sybrina Fulton, the mother of the Trayvon Martin, refuses to let reality intrude into her fantasy world. Sadly, biased news media like the Miami Herald allow her to spew forth her easily disproven lies.

On Feb. 5, my son Trayvon Martin would have been 22 years old. Just like every year, my family celebrated his birthday surrounded by friends and loved ones. And like every year since his death, I mourned my son, whose life was cut short by someone who decided to shoot first just because of the color of Trayvons skin.

Clearly, Fulton didnt pay any attention at all during the trial of George Zimmerman, even though she did attend it. Zimmerman didnt know Martins race when he called Sanford police, a fact proven by the recorded conversation with the dispatcher. Zimmerman became suspicious of Martin when he saw a shadowy figure lurking under the window of a recently burgled home in the rain. He only saw Martins face and race well after he began talking to the dispatcher.

Further, eyewitness evidence and forensics alike indicate that after Trayvon Martin attacked George Zimmerman from behind as Zimmerman was returning to his truckin what may have been a gay-bashing attempt. Multiple 911 calls and witness statements establish that Martin viciously committed felony assault on George Zimmerman for the better part of a minute before a dazed Zimmerman pulled his pistol as a last resort and fired a single shot to stop Trayvon Martins vicious criminal assault.

Trayvon was only 17 years old when he was followed and killed by a stranger who believed he looked threatening. He was visiting with his father, walking home from the store, unarmed. He had just a packet of candy and a can of iced tea. This person killed my son for simply walking through his own neighborhood. He claimed that he was acting in self-defense, though Trayvon never approached him and he pursued my son before attacking him.

No sane person who watched any part of the trial or who knows anything at all about the case will believe Fultons lie that Martin was shot for simply walking through his own neighborhood. As noted above, Trayvon Martin waited four long minutes to sneak up behind George Zimmerman as Zimmerman was walking back to his truck, allegedly screamed, What you followin me fo?! then launched his attack on Zimmerman. Lets be very clear on the point that Trayvon Martin was the aggressor.

Everything Fulton said about Zimmerman attacking Martin is an abject lie, unsupported by anything other than a mothers refusal to face the facts about the son she raised.

Our states laws allowed him to claim he was standing his ground, and it took the public crying out for police to even make an arrest. This is common in Stand Your Ground cases. The law is applied inconsistently and studies have found that it is difficult for police to enforce it. The American Bar Association found that Stand Your Ground laws can actually increase homicides, and that the policy carries an implicit bias against African Americans.

Stand your ground laws played no role at all in the Zimmerman/Martin confrontation, a lie Fulton continues to spread. Neither the prosecution nor the defense in the Zimmerman case made any mention of Floridas implementation of stand your ground laws for one very simple reason: George Zimmerman never had a chance to stand his ground. Zimmerman was approached from behind, sucker punched, mounted, and viciously attacked by a violent young criminal named Trayvon Martin. Zimmerans defense was a straight self-defense case.

And he was victorious.

Like almost all gun control advocates, Sybrina Fulton must lieto support her new career. If she admitted the truth that her son was a violent criminal justifiably shot during the commission of a felony assault, shed have to get a real job.

Author's Bio: Bob Owens

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Trayvon Martin's Mom Just Can't Stop Lying About Her Son's Death - Bearing Arms

Chicagoan’s Art a Celebration of Blackness, Tribute to Lives Lost – Chicago Tonight | WTTW


Chicago Tonight | WTTW
Chicagoan's Art a Celebration of Blackness, Tribute to Lives Lost
Chicago Tonight | WTTW
Hopelessness and guilt compelled Ervin A. Johnson to take a stand on police brutality and racism in America. Following the death of Trayvon Martin and trial of George Zimmerman, the man who fatally shot him, Johnson says he felt hopeless. My mom ...

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Chicagoan's Art a Celebration of Blackness, Tribute to Lives Lost - Chicago Tonight | WTTW

Weekend cheatsheet: 4 buzz-worthy topics people will be talking about – Chicago Tribune

Jay Z & Trayvon

Beyonce's man and the Weinstein Company are coming together to work on film and television projects about Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in 2012. The independent film company plans to make a six-part docu-series with Jay Z producing, according to Variety.

Can't get enough of Jessica Chastain? See her in "The Zookeeper's Wife," out this weekend. The two-time Academy Award nominee plays Antonina abiska, one-half of a couple who saved persecuted countrymen from death in 1939 Poland. The couple transformedtheir zoo into a conduit for refugees from the nearby Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. The story is a true one, so if you're looking for some history with your drama this weekend, take a look. Cute animals play a part.

Yes, we know you have a slew of titles ready to read in your Kindle queue, but this weekend, take a moment to download Phillip B. Williams award-winning poetry collection "Thief in the Interior." Williams is a Chicago native who won a 2017 Whiting Award this month for works that"fiercely seek new ways to protest, and grieve the violence done daily to black men's bodies." Broaden your mind in these tumultuous times.

This ominous number never gets a fair shake. No love in hotel elevators and dread when Friday the 13th comes around. The premiere of "13 Reasons Why" on Netflix tomorrow, March 31, won't change the trend. The series, based on the best-selling book of the same name, tells the story of a teen girl's suicide. Before taking her own life, the main character leaves 13 tapes to a classmate, each focused on a specific person who played a role in her death. According to Variety,"this is simply essential viewing." Selena Gomez (yep, her) serves as executive producer, and Sosie Bacondaughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwickplays one of the classmates, Skye.

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Weekend cheatsheet: 4 buzz-worthy topics people will be talking about - Chicago Tribune

Letters to the Editor Monday, March 27 – Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

Zimmerman thoughts

SUMNER The Second Amendment hater made a big blow about George Zimmerman shooting an unarmed Trayvon Martin. I hear that unarmed word thousands of times. They did their best to make that word soak in, but I didnt hear them mention a strong athletic person can do a lot of harm even if not armed with a gun or knife.

Zimmerman was on the receiving end of a deadly attack, having his head pounded on the cement. He did wait too long before shooting in defense of his life. I detest the belief a citizen must be a willing victim and be murdered or robbed or beat up, raped or maimed and be politically correct with the law. If anyone has to be killed or maimed, it should be the attacker, but not the would-be victim.

CHARLES CITY In a recent Charles City Press is an article by Mark Hopkins about bringing back the old Civilian Conservation Corps to put unemployed workers back to work during the Great Depression. They people planted 3 billion trees, built lodges, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

We need to bring CCC and Work Progress Association back and put able-bodied people to work rather than have them collect welfare that working taxpayers have to pay for. The new work program could be called Workforce as Hopkins suggests.

WATERLOO The state prisons now are very overloaded. I have a brother-in-law who is in a place originally for 200 people and there are 800 there. Shutting down the other prisons so somebody gets the extra money makes no sense to me. The fire marshal has deemed the current prison system a fire hazard.

Why isnt anything being done to eliminate this problem? The Parole Board needs to step up and do something.

WATERLOO Believe every word I say, believe in everything I do and ignore those who oppose me. Hitler, Stalin and Mao said similar things to the people of German, Russia and China.

Millions of people died following those egomaniacs.

Where will Trump lead America? It all depends on how far his followers take us and how the rest of us stand up to these challenges.

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Letters to the Editor Monday, March 27 - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier