President Calls For "Soul Searching" In Wake Of Trayvon Martin's Death
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/AP) – Reacting as a father, and not as the Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama said Americans needed "some soul searching" in the wake of the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, according to a top president adviser.
Senior White House adviser David Plouffe said President Obama's decision to comment on the shooting death of the African-American teen was motivated by parental instinct more than the incident's emergence as a racial issue.
Zimmerman has not been charged in the February 26th shooting which is now the focus of probes by the Justice Department and local authorities.
Obama said he supported the investigations, noting: "If I had son, he'd look like Trayvon."
Plouffe added that "no matter gender or race, this is a tragedy."
The U.S. Justice Department has said that a hate crime charge could be leveled if there is sufficient evidence that the shooting was motivated by racial bias and not simply a fight that spiraled out of control.
So far, only one such clue has surfaced publicly against 28-year-old George Zimmerman. On one of his 911 calls to police that night, Zimmerman muttered something under his breath that some listeners say sounds like a racial slur.
Many experts said more evidence would be needed that he harbored racial prejudice against black people and went after Martin for that reason alone. There had previously been burglaries in the complex committed by young black males, possibly heightening Zimmerman's suspicions when he spotted Martin.
Zimmerman's parents have insisted their son is not a racist, and several black residents of the neighborhood where Martin was shot have only good things to say about Zimmerman.
Zimmerman has not been charged with any crime and is claiming self-defense under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which eliminated a person's duty to retreat when threatened with serious bodily harm or death. He claims Martin attacked him as he was walking back to his truck, according to police.
Martin's parents and hundreds of supporters want Zimmerman arrested and charged with the youth's killing, but local police said they have little evidence to disprove his self-defense claim. A grand jury will be convened April 10 to consider whether to bring state charges, which could include second-degree murder or manslaughter.
The Justice Department's civil rights division and the FBI are conducting their own probe in the case, and a federal hate crimes charge could come out of that no matter what state authorities do.
The hate crimes law carries a potential life prison sentence when a death is involved.
One key is determining whether Martin's race alone was the reason Zimmerman decided to follow him in his vehicle. Martin, who was from Miami Gardens, was staying in the neighborhood with his father and father's fiancée and was returning from a convenience store with Skittles and a can of iced tea when the confrontation took place. He was not armed.
If Zimmerman ultimately is charged in Martin's death, the Justice Department may not bring its own separate case depending on the outcome of any trial.
