An altercation ensued even though Zimmerman was told not to get involved by a superior.
And when the police arrived on the scene, Martin was dead with bullet wounds and Zimmerman claimed he acted in self-defense. After a lengthy trial that gripped the nation, the off-duty “captain of the neighborhood patrol” was released without any charges.
This was because Trayvon Martin’s life was brutally ended over a stereotype that black boys in hoodies are deemed as a “threat.” Zimmerman’s only claim to stopping the young man was because he “looked suspicious.”