VOLUSIA EXPOSED

VOLUSIA EXPOSED.COM

Is the Trayvon Martin tragedy - just a symptom, to the bigger under diagnosed disease of police corruption.

Are the gate keepers (FDLE / State Attorneys) of police ethics, failing to insure that law enforcement agencies stay within the very laws they have been entrusted to enforce?

Should the public be demanding a total paradigm shift within the Central Florida criminal justice system?

If so, then 2012 presents a unique opportunity to embrace such a paradigm shift, it's an election year for many currently serving politicians, within our law enforcement / criminal justice system.

Updated
March 26, 2012

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Rev. Martin Lurther King, Jr.

Well, recent events clearly indicate that the Central Florida community has finally awakened to the fact that their criminal justice system is severely dysfunctional.

The Trayvon Martin's death has galvanized the attention of the community. Many in the community are demanding to know why the shooter in Trayvon's death has not been arrested. Currently, the community has apparently targeted the Sanford police department as the source for the failures in the handling of Trayvon's death. While, it does appear that Sanford PD does deserve some of the blame being assigned to it, VolusiaExposed.Com holds the opinion, that other individuals and agencies share the liability attached to Trayvon's demise.

Trayvon's mother is absolutely correct in her statement that , "this is not about a black and white thing, it's about a right and wrong thing".

In our opinion, the Martin family did the right thing by reaching out to federal officials for a proper investigation into the events surrounding their son's death. Obviously, a law enforcement agency that will conduct a back ground check and take a blood sample of a dead juvenile, but opted not to do the same to the shooter, should not be surprised, when the community questions their commitment to fairly and properly investigate the shooting.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the local State Attorney did the wrong thing, when they both failed to immediately correct the failures of the Sanford PD. Notice that both the FDLE and the local SA had a "Johnny Come Lately" approach to the Trayvon shooting.

Trayvon was dead nearly a month, prior to Governor Scott sending FDLE Commissioner Bailey the below attached letter. The Central Florida community had to rally in numbers, prior to the local State Attorney scheduling a Grand Jury review of the matter. Is this the level of response that we should expect out of the FDLE and the Office of the State Attorney? Must citizens rally against an injustice, prior to expecting an appropriate response from either the FDLE or the local State Attorney?

Sadly, given the level of corruption in Florida's criminal justice system, (to include the FDLE and local State Attorneys), and the lack of empathy of voters, the answer appears to be, yes, - it will be necessary each and every time, to ferret out justice, by marching on city hall. That is unless, we as a community, come to realize that we ALL are "Trayvon" - and that if we continue to allow our criminal justice professionals to violate anyone and everyone's right to equal protection under the law, that we invite our individual right to such protections, to also be violated.

So what is to be done?

First, we must as a community, come to the same conclusion, that the Martin family, has apparently arrived at. Not only can we not trust local officials, to properly investigate their son's death, but trust, can not be assigned to Florida State officials either.

A rather quick examination of recent corruption allegations, coming out of our local law enforcement agencies, will clearly indicate the reluctance of Florida State officials (FDLE and State Attorneys) to properly investigate and prosecute instances of law enforcement corruption.

Secondly, in our search for justice, we must do more than just attend rallies. In order to ensure that our entire criminal justice system experiences a total paradigm shift towards justice, we must march those rallies into the elections booths. Candidates (judges, sheriffs, state attorneys and governors) must be truly vetted for their support of such a shift in the criminal justice system.

Thirdly, we must realize that in vetting political candidates, that it is far more important, that the candidates have ethics and a commitment to the law, over experience in the profession. A wordly wise man, once advised me, that politicians are like prostitutes, the ones with the least experience on the job, are always the preferred candidate.

Finally, we must start expecting and demanding, that the men and women in our law enforcement community, obey the very laws, that they are trusted to enforce. We must come to the realization, that regardless of the color of our skin, or whether we wear hoodies and enjoy skittles, we are all Trayvons. If we, as individuals, allow our law enforcement officials to de-value another's right to equal protection under the law, merely on the color of their skin, social / economic status or whether they are an incarcerated person, then we, by default, take away from our own value.

Rev. Martin Niemoller expressed it best, upon his reflection of his actions (or lack thereof) during the rise of the Nazis within Europe.

"When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out."

Rev. Martin Niemoller