It's Watch!... Neighborhood Watch. Not shoot.

There is a major protest going on in NYC in the victim's memory. Twitter reports - because none of the 24/7 news nets are live - several thousand in Times Square.

 

There seems to be a lot of confusion and misinformation in this story.

In trying to piece together from the beginning the only story I could find the day after shooting (2/26) was from Fox News TV station on 2/27.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/seminole_news/022712-man-shot-and-killed-in-neighborhood-altercation

In story it said that Martin was visiting with his mother. Many recent news stories said he was visiting with his father.

Story did not seem to hit the newspapers until 2/29.

It begs the question as to how a 17 year old is shot and killed and it is not a major news story immediately?

Is this type of event so common place in Florida that news organizations treat it as routine event?

At what point did Martin's mother report him missing to the police? If it was my kid I would be on the phone within an hour of him not returning when he was suppose to.

 

They reported him missing that night, didn't they? The next day they were asked to ID a John Doe, and it was the kid.

 

If you do some searching on the Sanford PD, you'll see they've had many recent incidents involving racist, sexist and/or just general unprofessional behavior. To give you an idea of the possible mindset, the embattled police chief said that the real victim in this case is -- himself.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/03/sanfords-police-chief-is-the-real-victim-of-racism/254723/

Lee: "Our investigation is color blind and based on the facts and circumstances, not color. I know I can say that until I am blue in the face, but, as a white man in a uniform, I know it doesn't mean anything to anybody."

 

Reporting him missing isn't the issue.

How do the cops not ID him after a fatal shooting? He has a cellphone.

 

How would this not have been a huge news story in Central Florida within minutes of it happening?

 

The kid was in the morgue for three days as a John Doe. So the first 72 hours of the story is "Neighborhood Watch Shoots Intruder."

But as soon as the kid is ID'd, you get this:

www.wftv.com/news/news/police-man-neighborhood-watch-shoots-kills-teen-vi/nK8LR/

 

Pleasantville's Police Benevolent Association (PBA) held its annual awards ceremony on Friday, said President Matthew Listwan.

The union named Police Officer Aaron Hess as Officer of the Year.

Hess has been recovering from knee injuries sustained as a result of the events taking place on the morning of Oct. 17, 2010, when Pace University football player Danroy "DJ" Henry was shot to death outside of the Town Center at Thornwood.

Hess, who was identified as one of the officers who fired shots at Henry, was hurt when struck by a vehicle driven by the 20-year-old.

Listwan described the officer's injuries in statement made a few days after the shooting: "Officer Hess was seriously injured as a result of being hit by the vehicle and he underwent a 4 ½ hour surgery to repair his knee and was admited to the hospital for further care."

In an interview with Pleasantville Patch April 12, Listwan said the PBA's 20 or so members voted to honor Hess to "recognize all he went through and for his hard work."

"He was very thankful and very touched by the award," he said. "It was almost like a wedding for him, with all of the [officers] thanking him."

Listwan said Hess is "still healing" from his injuries, but is expected to return to work in the near future.

 

But that's where it gets confusing. When was the kid reported missing. If it was Sunday night, why did it take 3 days for the police to connect the 2 event?

Wouldn't it seem logical to think that if a black kid is reported missing from same community where a black kid meeting same description is found dead that the police would connect the two.

Is there a police report from Sunday night of a missing person?

 

We'll have to ask Sanford PD.

 

If they bought the watchdog's story, they would assume the kid was not from the neighborhood.

 

The kid was talking to his girlfriend on the phone. Wouldn't she have become alarmed if she did not hear from him and report her concern to his parents?