Preemptive self-defense

On March 25, many Christians wore hooded sweatshirts to church in solidarity with Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was shot dead on February 26 in Sanford, Florida. The shooter, George Zimmerman, found Martin's hoodie and black skin suspicious. Zimmerman has not been arrested.

While some facts remain in dispute, this much is clear: Zimmerman's aggressive citizen policing often targeted young black men. Ignoring advice from a 911 dispatcher, he followed Martin. This led to a physical confrontation, which ended in Martin's death. Zimmerman claimed self-defense, and the police let him go.

For Zimmerman, a black teenager in a hoodie signified a thug and a threat. This is troubling, as is the Sanford police's failure to perform certain routine procedures at the scene. Then there's the city's uninspiring explanation for declining to arrest Zimmerman: because of his self-defense claim, an arrest might result not in a conviction but in a lawsuit.