In a recent article from Colorlines it appears that many people in Sanford, FL have had mishandled cases by the police department. This comes to light in the aftermath of the Trayvon murder and scandal of an uncharged man. For those of you who may live in a bubble of seclusion, Trayvon was followed by a 240lb man on a dark rainy night. To which, Trayvon defended himself from attack and that man shot him, point-blank, in the chest. Said man claims self-defense. I’ve eliminated the racial identities of both Trayvon and his killer because honestly, as much as this may be racially fueled, this is more a matter of wrong and right. You cannot follow someone, approach them, and then claim self-defense when THEY were defending themselves against you – a stranger who pursued them on a rainy night. Anyway, in light of this tragedy, many others are stepping forward with claims of injustice in their cases. The Justice Department is stepping in to review the police department in Sanford. (article: http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/03/sanford_city_manager_asks_justice_department_to_investigate_entire_police_department.html)
An old adage says, “in every bad comes a good.” Maybe this is the good to come from Trayvon’s untimely and unjustified death. I personally support the national sensation surrounding this tragedy. I believe that some of the good coming out of this is 1. Sanford, Fl is being publicly put on display as on overtly racist town and community 2. racial injustices are being brought to the forefront of discussions and 3. people are FINALLY taking notice to much of what I’ve said all along – racism exists in systematic policy, government, and law. I’ve been hearing a lot of people say things like, “the way this world is going” or “how things have changed” BUT I disagree to those statements. Nothing has changed in our world and it is going the same place it always has been. This country was founded on systematic racism, discrimination, and injustice. The change is the internet and social media. People are finally becoming aware to the MULTITUDE of racial injustices of our country. Social media is allowing for the likely breezed-over story (of Trayvon and so many others) to come to light with force and magnitude.
A revolution needs to happen.
notjustmythoughts
notjustmythoughts 
ST: It is entirely likley that other Chiefs around Florida would already have been inclined to charge and hold Zimmerman under the original facts, and would have been inclined to do a very thorough photographing and search of the area nearby, including the use of spray-and-light to identify any blood drops or smears in the area. For instance, it was very important to determine the exact location (if possible) of the first blood from Zimmerman’s scalp. But even more important: It was raining: The footprint search should have been extremely thorough, followed up by the use of a dog to track their movements from the street if possible. If these were not done, the harm done by Lee’s decisions that night will rebound as much upon Zimmerman as anyone. He was not doing Zimmerman a favor even if Zimmerman’s statement that night was honest. With one shooting per year in the area, the expense of such thoroughness would not be inordinate. [I would like to add what I find remarkable in Zimmerman’s routine, for critique by others: I was astounded that Z would hop out of his SUV on a dark and rainy night (and with the intention to come close to a ‘suspicious’ person without a bright flashlight and pepper spray, these for his OWN safety. Am I the only person who thinks these are essential first-order defenses? Correctly used, they offer a defender a safe low-liability defense in an ambiguous situation, should one arise. It adds no delay to simply drop them as one goes for a more powerful item if needed. They can be in hand even while there is no certainly of a major threat. Both provide a non-lethal defense against dogs, and we know from a 911 call that one was loose in the immediate area.]