You know, reflecting on this case some more, this mentality I think may have done much more to cause this case to explode like it has, in the sense that I think all the authorities involved did not take things very seriously until well after the story broke and went out of control. The cops who arrived on scene did check out Zimmerman and he got medical attention, they take his statement and send him on his way. Martin's family isn't contacted until the next day when they report him missing.... it does feel ( whether intentional or not) that they treated this as 'just another dead gangbanger'. Thus when the story broke and suddenly everyone wants to know what happened, all they could say was:
"Hrmmm, well, we are currently still investigating and ... ummmm... well have to get back you. But at this point everything looks a-ok to us, no charges have been filed."
whereas they should have done their job and investigated that night and been able to say:
"Listen, this appears to be a tragic case of mistaken identity. Zimmerman saw Martin, who appeared to match descriptions for suspects who had been breaking into houses in the neighborhood recently. He attempted to follow to give us directions and a description, but Martin confronted him and a fight broke out. In the ensuing fight, Martin was shot because Zimmerman was overpowered and in fear for his life. We are still investigating and will give a report soon."
Bam, they have outlined the rough details of the events and have set a narrative. Instead, by not being prepared, they allowed everyone else, from the media to the general public to create their own version of the events, which led to shit getting out of control.
