Shooting of Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin was a seventeen-year-old African American high school student who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012. Zimmerman, who was twenty-eight at the time, was the volunteer neighborhood watch coordinator in the Retreat at Twin Lakes, a gated community in Sanford, Florida, where Martin had been visiting relatives. When Zimmerman spotted Martin, he called a police dispatcher, claiming that someone suspicious was in the neighborhood, which had recently experienced a string of break-ins and burglaries. The dispatcher instructed Zimmerman not to get out of his SUV or approach Martin. Zimmerman disregarded these instructions, however, chasing Martin, fighting with him, and shooting him. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder but claimed self-defense and was acquitted.

Martin’s death and Zimmerman’s acquittal sparked outrage throughout the nation, with many contending that Martin had been racially profiled by Zimmerman, whose acquittal was a racial injustice. Protests and demonstrations were held in cities across the country including Sanford, Florida, where Martin was killed. Among the multitude of celebrities condemning Zimmerman’s actions was President Barack Obama who declared that “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” Martin’s death ultimately resulted in the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement, which aims to end racial injustice against African Americans.

Background

Trayvon Martin was the seventeen-year-old son of divorced parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin. He lived with his mother and older brother in Miami Gardens, Florida. On February 26, 2012, the day of the shooting, Martin and his father were visiting his father’s fiancée and her son at her townhome in the Retreat at Twin Lakes, a gated community in Sanford, Florida.

Zimmerman, whose race has been described as multi-racial or “white Hispanic,” was an insurance fraud investigator and a part-time college student. He had been selected by neighbors in the area to be the coordinator of the neighborhood watch program. In the months prior to the shooting, Zimmerman had called police several times to report what he believed was suspicious activity in the neighborhood.

On the evening of February 26, 2012, Martin had left the townhome to go to a nearby convenient store, where he purchased iced tea and candy. Zimmerman spotted him as he was walking back to the townhome, later saying that he knew everyone in the neighborhood but did not recognize Martin. He called the nonemergency unit of the Sanford Police Department, describing the teen to a dispatcher as “a real suspicious guy” who may be “up to no good.” He added that Martin was wearing a dark hoodie and might be on drugs.

While on the phone, Zimmerman said that the suspect had begun to run. The dispatcher told him to remain in his vehicle, advising him not to follow the teenager. Zimmerman pursued Martin, however. After he ended the call, a physical altercation took place between Zimmerman and Martin, who was about 70 yards from the backdoor of the townhome. Zimmerman shot and killed Martin.

Overview

Neighbors who had heard the fight and the gunshot called 911. The police officer arriving at the scene found Martin lying face down in the grass and unresponsive. He had been shot in the chest at close range. The officer handcuffed Zimmerman and confiscated his weapon. He noted that Zimmerman was bleeding from the nose and back of the head. Zimmerman was taken to the Sanford Police Department, where investigators questioned him for about five hours. He was then released from custody, mainly because of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which gives individuals the right to defend themselves using deadly force.

The case against Zimmerman may have been mismanaged from the start, as it ultimately resulted in the firing of Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee. On March 12, Lee said that no charges would be filed against Zimmerman because the case lacked probable cause to dispute his claim of self-defense. A day later, however, a police investigator who had been assigned to the case recommended charging Zimmerman with manslaughter since the altercation between the two men would not have occurred if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle as instructed.

Because Zimmerman remained free, protests and demonstrations were held throughout the country demanding justice and racial equality. Protestors wanted Zimmerman to be charged with Martin’s murder. A petition on Change.org demanding Zimmerman’s arrest received more than 2.2 million signatures, more than any other petition on the organization’s website.

Also in March, Benjamin Crump, the attorney representing the Martin family, disclosed that Martin had been on the phone with his sixteen-year-old girlfriend moments before he was shot. He told her that a man who was on a phone had been watching him from his vehicle. He said the man then started following him. The friend told Martin to run to the townhouse. She said she heard someone ask Martin what he was doing and Martin ask the person why he was following him. Then, she said, a fight must have started because Martin’s earpiece was no longer in his ear and the connection went dead.

The Trial

In April, Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, appointed Special Prosecutor Angela Corey, who charged Zimmerman with second-degree murder. The trial began a year later in June 2013. Prosecutors claimed that Martin had been racially profiled and murdered because Zimmerman had taken the law into his own hands. They claimed that Zimmerman had assumed that Martin was a criminal even though he was not trespassing in the neighborhood in which he was killed. Martin had no criminal record.

The defense argued that Zimmerman shot Martin because Martin had attacked him, and he feared for his life. Although Zimmerman had been charged with second-degree murder, the judge gave the jury the option of convicting him of the lesser charge of manslaughter. However, for the members of the jury to convict Zimmerman of either charge, they had to find that Zimmerman caused Martin’s death but not in self-defense. After more than sixteen hours of deliberation over two days, the six-member, all-female jury found Zimmerman not guilty of all charges.

Aftermath

Activists Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors created the Black Lives Matter hashtag in protest, which quickly developed into a movement dedicated to racial justice. The movement became an international force protesting racial inequality in the justice system. The subsequent deaths of several African Americans at the hands of police has kept the movement active.

Following the trial in 2013, Zimmerman was charged with domestic aggravated assault after he allegedly choked his girlfriend and pointed a gun at her. The girlfriend dropped the charges, however. In 2015, Zimmerman was charged again with aggravated assault against a different girlfriend. This girlfriend also dropped the charges.

Bibliography

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Botelho, Greg and Holly Yan. “George Zimmerman found not guilty of murder in Trayvon Martin’s death.” CNN, 14 July 2013, www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/justice/zimmerman-trial/index.html. Accessed 15 July 2020.

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Fulton, Sybrina and Tracy Martin. Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin. Spiegal & Grau, 2017.

Johnson, Devon, editor. Deadly Injustice: Trayvon Martin, Race, and the Criminal Justice System (New Perspectives in Crime, Deviance, and Law). NYU Press, 2015.

Linder, Douglas O. “George Zimmerman (“Trayvon Martin”) Trial, 2013.” Famous Trials, famous-trials.com/zimmerman1. Accessed 15 July 2020.

“A teen was shot by a watchman 5 years ago. And the Trayvon Martin case became a cause.” Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2017, www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article135413214.html. Accessed 15 July 2020.

Toobin, Jeffrey. “The Facts in the George Zimmerman Trial.” The New Yorker, 16 July 2013, www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-facts-in-the-zimmerman-trial. Accessed 15 July 2020.

“Trayvon Martin (1995–2012).” Biography, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/crime-figure/trayvon-martin. Accessed 15 July 2020.

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