Is there a connection between George Zimmerman’s shooting of Trayvon Martin and a white Sanford police officer’s tazing of a black man? Does this tragedy add credence to allegations that Zimmerman’s motives for shooting Martin were racist? These are the kinds of questions I’ve been investigating since moving to Sanford to witness the trial from inside the courtroom. I’ve discovered unreported information in many areas; some of which may have led to a different verdict- -had prosecutors not missed it.
I’m in Sanford now writing a book on what the public doesn’t know and what the jury never heard.
What does this have to do with Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin? Nothing, as far as I can tell. Here's a photo of McIntosh and Zimmerman detective Doris Singleton doing community outreach. The cop, McIntosh, is under investigation for the tasering incident. He has no prior reported incidents according to this article.
O'Connor speculates:
I close by circling back to George Zimmerman. Sanford’s black community believes Fuller’s tazing is more proof of a racist police department to which the ‘Wannabe Police Officer, Zimmerman’ has close ties. And that this “culture of racism” influenced Zimmerman’s decision to shoot Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman, of course, denies this and a jury seemed to agree. But, I’ve spoken with several credible people who provide interesting insight and who offer proof that Zimmerman and his family are racist. I’ve also discovered a lot more about the Zimmerman/Trayvon tragedy. But I can’t share it yet. I will when the time is right. So, stay tuned.
Over the next months, more that shouldn’t wait will emerge. I’ll report it here. This now includes an increasingly excessive use of death and injury-linked Taser guns by police here and across the nation.
Her blog has only the one post. But on her about page, she writes:
I’d found and would continue to discover mistakes, misrepresentations, corruption and cover ups that remain the unrealized hallmarks of this outrage-provoking case. There are many accessories to this injustice. They include law enforcement, forensic experts, witnesses, prosecutors and defense attorneys. The victims include Trayvon and George, their families and a country that still doesn’t know the truth.
So according to O'Connor, Zimmerman is both a racist and a victim. And the culprits are the police, prosecutors and defense lawyers, witnesses and forensic experts.
I won't be surprised if her "credible sources" are the Martin family lawyers. Why? The tasered-man's lawyer, Shayan Modarres, was one of Benjamin Crump's lawyers in the appeal of the order to take his deposition. Here's a brief he co-wrote with attorney Bruce Blackwell. Modarres was the sponsor (along with Martin family lawyer Natalie Jackson) of the No Justice No Peace- "March Against Gun Violence" rally on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 in Orange County, FL. According to this article, Modarres is a member of the Martin family legal team. (A former law professor of Moadarres also says he's a part of the family's legal team.)
O'Connor says she obtained a copy of the police report McIntosh filed in the Fuller case. It's readily available here on the City of Sanford web site.
I think Shellie should have chosen someone without an agenda (selling a book) to conduct her interview. It's certainly understandable that the potential legal consequences, their having to live in hiding and the media attention exacerbated the strain on their marriage. Not surprisingly, the media continues to misreport her statements in the interview. She didn't have a fight with George and leave the day of the shooting, it was the day before. She didn't imply he had a temper or was violent, she said:
"George has never laid a hand on me nor has he ever used any sort of force."
She still thinks her husband is innocent:
She said she believes her husband's story that he shot and killed Martin in self defense, and said the most hurtful thing she experienced was hearing that he was a "murderer or some sort of racist."
On her plea deal, the media should at least mention the court withheld adjudication of her guilty plea -- so long as she successfully completes probation, she will have no record -- she can say she has never been convicted of a crime. (The plea could be used against her by prosecutors and a judge if she gets charged with additional crimes in the future.) Here are the plea and sentencing documents. Here is her letter to Judge Lester. A summary of withheld adjudication in Florida is here.
The status of their marriage has no bearing on the criminal case and is not of interest to me. I am writing about this simply to opine that I doubt O'Connor has, as she claims on her website, any new and credible information on the criminal case that prosecutors missed which could have resulted in a different verdict. She's selling a book that any number of reporters (and bloggers) who have followed the case since its inception (not just for trial) could write, probably more informatively.
