Black Panthers offer bounty for gunman in Trayvon Martin's death

[RBP]

SANFORD, Fla. -- Members of the New Black Panther Party are offering a $10,000 reward for the "capture" of George Zimmerman, the Neighborhood Watch volunteer who shot Trayvon Martin.

New Black Panther leader Mikhail Muhammad announced the reward during a protest in Sanford Saturday. And when asked whether he was inciting violence, Muhammad replied defiantly: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

The bounty announcement came moments after members of the group called for the mobilization of 10,000 black men to capture Zimmerman, who shot Trayvon in a gated Sanford community on Feb. 26.

Muhammad said members of his group would search for Zimmerman themselves in Maitland -- where the 28-year old worked before the shooting, employees there told The Orlando Sentinel. He declined to say when the group would begin their search.

Sanford city officials issued a statement late Saturday, condemning the group's appeal and asking citizens to leave all arrests to the police. The statement was sanctioned by Sanford Police Captain Robert O'Connor -- one of two Captains now leading the department in the wake of Police Chief Bill Lee's temporary suspension.

"The City is requesting calm heads and no vigilante justice," the statement said. "Attempts by civilians to take any person into custody may result in criminal charges or unnecessary violence."

Former Orange-Osceola County prosecutor Esther Whitehead said the Panthers' bounty opens them up to civil and possibly criminal liability.

"I can't see how anyone can go out and take action as a private citizen without some government action like the issuance of a warrant," she said. "It doesn't make sense. It doesn't sound reasonable."

The New Black Panthers were in Sanford Saturday for the group's third protest in the past two weeks over the fatal shooting of the Miami Gardens teen.

The group has consistently called for Zimmerman's arrest and threatened to find and detain him if police were not willing to do so. But group members didn't call for the mobilization of thousands until Saturday.

On Saturday, Muhammed led the small group in chanting "Justice for Trayvon!" and "Black Power!"

"If the government won't do the job, we'll do it," Muhammad said, leading his group of eight party members in chants like "freedom or death" and "justice for Trayvon" while making the iconic gesture of raising their fists into the air.

The party members said they are tired of the inaction of government officials -- from Sanford city officials up to the Governor -- and accused them of lying and delaying justice.

Sanford police arrived toward the end of the demonstration Saturday asking onlookers and media to avoid walking into the street in front of The Retreat at Twin Lakes where Trayvon was killed.

As the officer walked back to his cruiser, Muhammad berated and pointed angrily at him saying "If you'd had shown this much concern, Trayvon may still be alive today."

The fiery rhetoric and often profanity-laden diatribes made some visitors to the impromptu memorial uncomfortable.

Pastor Moses Brown of Tampa said he was disappointed with the Panthers' approach.

"We believe in a message of justice, not hate," said Brown, who was in town to pray at the memorial and attend the Monday event at Sanford's Civic Center. "We believe justice will come through the court system."

Brown, who is also the Chief executive officer of Feed Our Children, said he has been meeting with other Christian ministers to discuss the case.

While the Panthers chanted behind him, Brown said "I see parallel versions of how we are coping with this as a community. Some in anger and us, in prayer. But we are in America where we have our rights to expression."

Sanford resident James Tucker said the party's message is about vengeance -- not justice -- and could rouse a "lynch mob" that could spiral out of control into a race riot.

"I'm as much for black power as anybody but this is going to alienate the white friends we need to get things done," Tucker said, as he stood across the street from the demonstration.

The Southern Poverty Law Center website the New Black Panther Party, a black-separatist group founded in 1989, is "virulently racist and anti-Semitic," and its leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law officers.

Like many people who have expressed outrage nationwide and beyond over the case, Muhammad, the group's southern regional minister, has called Trayvon's killing and the lack of an arrest a "miscarriage of justice."

http://www.standard.net/stories/2012...-martins-death

[Muddy]

These idiots... Yeah thats what we need.. more violence..

[FBD]

Why the hell should they care, its not like the DoJ would uphold any conviction against them. Voter intimidation, puttin out hit requests, ya know, all in a day's work

I'm still wondering why with all of the pictures I've seen of this dude why are every single one of them a pic of an innocent little 10 year old - what's the problem with showing him as an adult?

[Muddy]

Why the hell should they care, its not like the DoJ would uphold any conviction against them. Voter intimidation, puttin out hit requests, ya know, all in a day's work

I'm still wondering why with all of the pictures I've seen of this dude why are every single one of them a pic of an innocent little 10 year old - what's the problem with showing him as an adult?

I thought he was a 10 year old dude (because of the pictures) until I read the story...

[Loser]

I've been following this case, and in my opinion, the idiot should be charged at the minimum with involuntary manslaughter.

[Muddy]

I've been following this case, and in my opinion, the idiot should be charged at the minimum with involuntary manslaughter.

Right.. If you kill someone you really need a judge to give the nod on it... Not some street level cop..

[Acid Trip]

More information on the story says George Zimmerman was attacked and has the injuries to prove it. Zimmerman also happens to be a Hispanic male with a bi-racial family (Hispanic and Black).

http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimm...ry?id=15999256

The attorney counseling George Zimmerman, who shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin as he was walking home from the store with a bag of Skittles, says if charges are filed, Zimmerman will argue that he acted in self-defense and that Florida's stand-your-ground law applies.

Attorney Craig Sonner said the public is only hearing part of the story, and when all the facts come out, it will be clear that Zimmerman acted in self defense. A grand jury is scheduled to begin hearing the case April 10.

"George Zimmerman suffered a broken nose, and had an injury to the back of his head, he was attacked by Trayvon Martin on that evening," Sonner said. "This was a case of self defense."

When asked why Zimmerman went after Martin, even though a 911 dispatcher told him not to, Sonner said: "Those are questions that will be answered."

Sonner said the so-called stand-your-ground law, under which a person who feels threatened is not required to retreat and can "meet force with force" if attacked, will be applicable in the case.

Sonner insisted that Zimmerman is not a racist, pointing out that he and his wife mentored for two black children for free.

"When I asked this mother [of the mentees], who trusted [Zimmerman and his wife], and she's an African-American, if she trusted George Zimmerman, she said she did, and I asked her if there was anything that caused her to believe that she was a racist, and she said, 'Absolutely not.' And I said, went further, 'Did you ever hear him use racial slurs in any time that you'd been around him?' And she said, 'no' as well," Sonner said.

Joe Oliver, a family friend of Zimmerman's who spoke with him this weekend, told ABC News that as a volunteer community watch commander, Zimmerman had to look out for suspicious-looking people.

"There are people who have accused George of profiling, well, I would think as a watch commander you are keeping an eye out for people you don't recognize in your neighborhood," Oliver said.

"The reason why he was following this suspicious person that he saw was because the neighborhood had a rash of break-ins," he said. "George had no intention of taking anyone's life. He cried for days after."

Oliver said the headlines have taken a toll on Zimmerman, his wife, and his family.

"He's moved, they've disconnected their phone numbers, they're in hiding, they're fearful," Oliver said.

The Zimmerman family friend also denied that a word the watchman is heard blurting out on one of the 911 tapes is the racial slur, "coon." Oliver said the word he hears Zimmerman saying is "goon."

"As far as, I mean as far as George being racist, I didn't take it as a racist term. I heard 'goon' and talking to my teenage daughter, apparently goon is a term of endearment in high school these days," he said.

"He wasn't talking to Trayvon when that comment was made. He was speaking a generality in that this suspicious person was someone who he – lumped in -- as always getting away -- goon, coon. I mean, the bottom line, he thought he needed to keep an eye on this individual for whatever reason," Oliver said.

Oliver said he believes the voice screaming for help on the 911 tape is Zimmerman's.

After talking with Zimmerman, Oliver says he's convinced that it came down to a final life-or-death moment: "At that point, either George or Trayvon was going to die."

[FBD]

that's more like what I've heard - dude that has chased away burglars before confronts suspicious person, who attacks him. I think involuntary manslaughter should be the worst here.

[Joebob034]

I like that there's this huge movement over this murder. There's been all sorts of demonstrations and outcry here in Detroit over this murder. Meanwhile, in the past month or so, we've had like 3 or 4 kids murdered in the city, one of them only 9 months old. Where's all the outcry and protests for these murders? Where was all this solidarity then?

[FBD]

All of the race leaders needed to convene and declare official racism and race based everything, then everyone has permission to riot. So long as you're a racist, of course.

[Acid Trip]

New shirts for sale in Florida. Apparently Hispanics are now considered crackers.

[RBP]

[Hal-9000]

So the shooter is half Hispanic/half black and shot some guy walking home from the store with a bag of candies?

How much aren't we hearing about the actual incident? Zimmerman claims to have been beaten...I sense more coming regarding the truth....

[FBD]

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/...ter_black.html

What would happen if a black man armed with a handgun confronted "suspicious persons" in his neighborhood? What would happen if the "suspicious persons" were unarmed white teens, one of them was shot dead, and the shooter claimed self-defense?

This is not an exercise in mere speculation. We know what would happen in such a case. There would be no white mobs in the street chanting "No justice, no peace!" There would be no whites holding a "million hoodie march" in New York City. There would be no white equivalent of Al Sharpton, the professional race-baiter behind the 1987 Tawana Brawley hoax, leading marches in the streets of the shooter's hometown. There would be no Federal civil rights investigation by the Justice Department. There would be no comments from a president who seems congenitally unable to keep his mouth shut on matters involving left-wing political correctness. And there would be no national media attention from biased, left-wing "reporters."

We know this because in fact, such an event occurred in 2009 in Greece, N.Y., a suburb of Rochester. Roderick Scott, a black man, shot and killed an unarmed white teen, Christopher Cervini, whom he believed was burglarizing a neighbor's car, with a licensed .40 cal. handgun.

There are many similarities between the Scott-Cervini case and the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case in Florida. In both cases, there had been a spate of criminal activity in the neighborhood. In both cases, the shooters called 911 to report suspicious activity, yet chose to confront the unarmed suspects outside their residence and off their own property prior to the arrival of the police. In both cases, the shooters claimed that they felt threatened, and fired in self-defense. In both cases, local law enforcement applied relevant state law.

Unlike Florida, New York does not have a "stand your ground" law. New York law allows a person to use deadly force to defend his residence from home invasion only as a last resort. It does not allow the use of deadly force to prevent a property crime, and requires retreat if possible. Thus, while Zimmerman was not arrested under Florida law, Scott was tried for manslaughter.

New York law does allow a person to use deadly force anywhere, including off his own property, if he feels that his life is in imminent danger and retreat is not possible. Despite the fact that he left his own property, confronted, and shot dead an unarmed white person thought to be committing a petty property crime, Scott was acquitted by a majority-white jury after claiming that the Cervini charged at him, putting him in imminent fear of his life.

Despite the racial difference between the shooter and the decedent, there were no allegations of racial bias. Scott was not charged with a hate crime. There was no Federal civil rights investigation. There were no white protests. The case was settled for what it was: a tragedy caused by a series of poor decisions on behalf of the shooter, and a split-second decision that will forever be second-guessed.

In all probability, the actions of Zimmerman in Florida were also based on a series of poor decisions: the decision to follow a suspect after a police dispatcher told him not to, the decision to confront a suspect with a firearm off his own property, and a split-second decision to shoot an unarmed person when Zimmerman felt his life was in imminent danger, resulting in tragedy. But a tragedy is not necessarily a Federal civil rights case - unless the mobs in the streets and their allies in the media and government want to make it one.

The truth of the matter is that "civil rights" cases are often little more than reverse lynch mobs. In the Old South of the past, white mobs would drag black suspects out of jail and lynch them in the streets if they felt the wheels of justice were turning too slowly. Today, black mobs, often led by the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, lead street protests or riots, and the Federal government comes after white suspects with the "rope" of "civil rights" charges. And just like the old Southern sheriffs with ties to the Klan who turned a blind eye to the illegal actions of whites, the Department of Justice often refuses to act on "civil rights" violations when the perpetrators are black and the victims are white. In the eyes of the Federal government and the political Left, all whites are forever suspected of being gap-toothed Klansmen with shotguns and nooses in their pickup trucks, and all blacks are perpetually innocent, doe-eyed victims of white oppression.

This dynamic was made perfectly clear twenty years ago by the Los Angeles riots. Rodney King, a convicted felon, allegedly intoxicated, led police on a high-speed car chase and resisted arrest when he was finally cornered. Most people agree that the cops gave Rodney a few more licks than department procedures called for. But given King's background and the extenuating circumstances, the cops were acquitted of assault charges under state law. The black population of L.A. erupted in riots that killed 53 people, ignited thousands of arsons, and saw widespread looting. Korean merchants were racially targeted for arson, and resorted to defending their property with arms. Reginald Denny, a hapless white truck driver who inadvertently drove into the riots, was pulled from his vehicle by black rioters who smashed his skull in 91 places with a brick (inflicting far worse injuries than the cops had inflicted on King) and danced a jig over his prone body.

Long before Eric Holder became Attorney General, refused to prosecute black voter intimidation, and referred to blacks as "my people," the Department of Justice caved in to the pressure of the rioters by charging and convicting the L.A. cops with "civil rights" violations and sending them to Federal prison. But no such Federal charges were levied against the blacks who targeted the Koreans and attacked Reginald Denny.

Two years later, O.J. Simpson, a black defendant with a history of domestic violence, was accused of slashing the throats of two white people. But no "civil rights" or "hate crimes" charges were filed against him. No white protests erupted against Simpson or against the black community. Simpson, a black millionaire who had a career in sports, money, and fame that most white people can only dream about, was portrayed as a "victim" of the "racist" police. Blacks from coast to coast whooped and danced with joy when he was acquitted of double murder.

Certainly it's true that in the past, blacks have been victims of whites. But today the reality is quite different from what the street mobs, the government, the media and the P.C. crowd would have us believe. Far from being victims of white oppression, blacks today are disproportionately perpetrators of violent crimes against whites and against other blacks. According to data from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, in 2009, "whites" -- a category that includes Hispanics -- were known to be responsible for 5,286 murders. Blacks, a mere 13% of the population, were known to be responsible for 5,980 murders. In 2005, the New Century Foundation's "Color of Crime" report found that "Blacks commit more violent crime against whites than against blacks. Forty-five percent of their victims are white, 43 percent are black, and 10 percent are Hispanic. When whites commit violent crime, only three percent of their victims are black" (emphasis mine). Also in 2005, the Department of Justice reported that one-third of rapes committed against white women (approximately 37,000) were perpetrated by blacks, while less than ten -- statistically zero -- rapes of black women were committed by whites.

Whatever happened in the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case, one thing is perfectly clear: it's high time this country quit the racial dog-and-pony show, and judged each criminal case on its individual merits instead of allowing the race-baiting demagogues to leverage each incident for political advantage in the streets and in the media.

[FBD]

nah, he wasnt dealing