For Once, I'm Not Taking Sides

Perhaps you've noticed how I get pretty mouthy on subjects I'm passionate about.

Regarding the Trayvon Martin case, I'm not taking sides.

I don't have the facts. None of us does.

What we have is the media's reporting of what appears, essentially, to be a "he said/the 9-1-1 tapes said/the-girlfriend-who-wasn't-there said situation.

It seems the police have earwitnesses, at least one of whom has been all over television turning what she heard into conjecture. Removing that, her facts, if I interpret them correctly, are: she heard screaming and then a gunshot.

Some media outlets have reported Trayvon was an innocent. Some others have reported he was the subject of a police search at his high school and found in possession of a possible "burglary tool" along with some jewelry that couldn't be accounted for.

I have several different kinds of that particular "burglary tool"(a screwdriver) in my basement.

Some folks offer that Zimmerman overstepped the bounds of his Neighborhood Watch duties. His brother says he wasn't even "on duty" that night, but rather headed to a store. Some point out that he acted contrary to what a police dispatcher told him to do. His lawyer calls the dispatcher's words, "a request, not an order."

It goes on and on, back and forth.

Let me say this.

In my early twenties, there were times when I foolishly acted outside the scope of my authority, both as a civilian witness and as a law-enforcement officer. I'm fortunate that my mouth, and my good intentions, did not result in physical harm to anyone, least of all me.

Sometimes reasoned thinking is impossible during an adrenaline rush.

I've also been in situations where I drew a gun too quickly and then had to defend myself against individuals trying to take it away from me. Shooting them was not an option. That happens to cops, time to time. I imagine it happens occasionally to civilians who carry guns for self-defense, too.

I have no idea what Zimmerman did or didn't do. I have no idea what young Trayvon Martin did, or didn't do.

All I know is that people are expressing opinions on an incredibly volatile subject based on what the lawyers call, "facts not in evidence."

That, my friends, could get someone hurt.