demand travyons killer get prosecuted now

7/28/2019 Demand Travyons Killer Get Prosecuted Now

1/3

1

Lisette Garcia

From: Arturo Carmona, Presente.org

Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 4:29 PM

To: Carswell, Amy (Advocacy)

Subject: Demand Travyons Killer Get Prosecuted, Now

Dear Amy,

Since Monday, our friends at ColorofChange.org have demanded justice forTrayvon Martin, a 17 year-old

who was shot and killed by a self-proclaimed neighborhood watch captain when he was returning to hisfather's friend's home in a gated community in Sanford, FL.

Latinos throughout the United States share in this outrage, as we know all-too-well the threat posed by racial

profiling and racism. This tragedy is emblematic of the danger posed to Black, Latino and other youth of color

by a climate of racism and injustice that prevails in many of our communities. We stand with the AfricanAmerican community which continues to be greatly impacted by race hate in this country.

Please read Trayvon's story and demand the Department of Justice take over Trayvon Martin's case, arrest hiskiller, and launch an independent investigation into the Sanford police department's mishandling of the case.

Click the link below and help us get 20,000 Presente members to stand in solidarity with this fight. Todossomos Trayvon! (We are all Trayvon!)

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/Trayvon

Thanks y adelante!

Arturo, Felipe, Favianna, Roberto, Ana, and the rest of the Presente.org team

Dear Amy,

Three weeks ago, 17-year old Trayvon Martin was gunned down by

self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman.

Despite Zimmerman admitting to following, confronting, and

killing Trayvon, he has yet to be arrested or charged with any

crime.1

Just minutes before Trayvon was killed, Zimmerman had called police

stating that Trayvon looked "suspicious." Trayvon was unarmed andwalking back to his father's home in Sanford, Florida when Zimmermanaccosted him.

At the crime scene, Sanford police botched their questioning ofZimmerman, refused to take the full statements of witnesses, and

pressured neighbors to side with the shooter's claim of self-defense.2

As

it turns out, Sanford's police department has a history of failing to

hold perpetrators accountable for violent acts against Black victims, and the police misconduct in

Trayvon's case exemplifies the department's systemic mishandling of such investigations.3

And now, the

Trayvon Martin was shotdead on h is way home from

buying candy.

Right-click hereto downloadpictures.To help protectyourprivacy,Outlook preventedautomatic download ofthispicturefromtheInternet.Trayvon Martin

Please join us in calling onthe Dept. of Justice to arrest

Trayvon's killer and launchan investigation into

Sanford's police department:

Right-click hereto downloadpictures.To help protectyourprivacy,Outlook preventedautomatic download ofthispicturefromtheInternet.Join Us

Obtained via FOIA by Judicial Watch, Inc.


2/3

2

State Attorney's office has rubber-stamped the Sanford police's non-investigation, claiming that there is notenough evidence to support even a manslaughter conviction.

4

Trayvon's family and hundreds of thousands of people around the country are demanding justice.5

Please join usin calling on the Department of Justice to take over the case, arrest Trayvon's killer, and launch an

independent investigation into the Sanford police department's unwillingness to protect Trayvon's civil

rights. It takes just a moment:


Walking home from the store shouldn't cost you your life, but when Black youth are routinely assumed to be

violent criminals, being randomly killed is a constant danger.6

Before Zimmerman decided to get out of hisparked car gun in tow to pursue Trayvon on foot that night, he called the police to identify Trayvon as a

"suspicious person" apparently because he was wearing a hoodie and walking too slowly in the rain for

Zimmerman's liking. Despite being instructed not to follow Trayvon, Zimmerman proceeded to confront and

fatally shoot the boy in the chest within a matter of minutes.7

The case has been compromised from the beginning. When Sanford police arrived on the scene, Zimmermanwas first approached by a narcotics detective not a homicide investigator who "peppered him with questions"

rather than allowing him to tell his story without prompting. Another officer "corrected" a witness giving a

statement that she'd heard Trayvon cry for help before he was shot, telling her she had heard

Zimmerman instead.8

And beyond the questions of professional competence or even the police's disregard for

the facts, Florida's notorious "Shoot First" law takes a shooter's self-defense claim at face value incentivizing

law enforcement not to make arrests in shooting deaths that would lead to murder charges in other states.9

Sanford has a history of not prosecuting when the victim is Black. In 2010, the white son of a Sanford police

lieutenant was let go by police after assaulting a homeless Black man outside a downtown bar. And, in 2005, aBlack teenager was killed by two white security guards, one the son of a Sanford Police officer. The pair was

arrested and charged, but a judge later cited lack of evidence and dismissed both cases.10

Please join us in calling on the Department of Justice to arrest Trayvon's killer and launch an

investigation into the Sanford police department's mishandling of the case and when you do, ask yourfriends and family to do the same:


Thanks and Peace,

-- Rashad, Gabriel, Dani, Matt, Natasha, Kim and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team

March 19th, 2012

References

1. "Witnesses in Trayvon Martin death heard cries before shot," Miami Herald, 03-15-12

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/15/2696446/trayvon-martin-case.html

2. "Orlando Watch Shooting Probe Reveals Questionable Police Conduct," ABC News, 03-13-12

http://abcnews.go.com/US/neighborhood-watch-shooting-trayvon-martin-probe-reveals-

questionable/story?id=15907136

3. "Trayvon Martin Case Salts Old Wounds And Racial Tension," Huffington Post, 03-14-12http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/14/trayvon-martin-sanford-florida_n_1345868.html



3/3

3

4. "Police: No Grounds For Arrest in Trayvon Martin's Death," WESH-2 Orlando, 03-16-12http://www.wesh.com/news/30692415/detail.html

5. "Trayvon Martin Family Seeks FBI Investigation of Killing by Neighborhood Watchman," ABC News, 03-18-12

http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-family-seeks-fbi-investigation-killing/story?id=15949879

6. "Ramarley Graham: NYPD Slays Unarmed Black Teen as Outrage over Targeting of People of Color

Grows," Democracy Now!, 02-08-12http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/8/ramarley_graham_nypd_slays_unarmed_black

7. "Trayvon Martin would be alive if Neighborhood Watch rules followed." Orlando Sentinel, 03-14-12http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-14/news/os-trayvon-martin-beth-kassab-031512-

20120314_1_orlando-police-block-captains-zimmerman

8. See reference 2.

9. "Teen's death suggests review of 'Stand Your Ground Law' needed," Tallahassee Democrat, 03-16-12

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120316/OPINION05/203160343/Teen-s-death-suggests-review-Stand-

Your-Ground-Law-needed

10. "Five years since Florida enacted 'stand-your-ground' law, justifiable homicides are up, Tampa Bay Times,

10-17-10http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1128317.ece

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

Right-click hereto downloadpictures.To help protectyourprivacy,Outlook preventedautomatic download ofthispicturefromtheInternet.

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

Right-click hereto downloadpictures.To help protectyourprivacy,Outlook preventedautomatic download ofthispicturefromtheInternet.


demand travyons killer get prosecuted now

Documents