The taser thing is interesting, though.  You're suggesting you might commit a battery if someone was following you and got too close, and worry about the consequences later.

If you're violent and scaring the shite out of people, since I'm not Randy Couture, I'm calling the man. Sorry, but suck it up mfers..

And don't kid yourself, robbing people is a form of violence. Frightening vulnerable people in their homes is violence.

I don't consider ours to be "bad" experiences, as we incurred no injury or property loss or damage.  It's part of life in a lively neighborhood, which has lots of benefits -- including good neighbors.

How do I know they're good?  I was the one who knew enough of them to put together the incidents from street to street that the cops had missed, until I asked them to come meet with us.  Believe me, since the sixties and being tear-gassed and worse, I am watchful for bad cops.  But I also am glad to have good ones, who came through for us -- and helped us to organize our own sort of neighborhood watch.  

I know that Jeralyn does not like neighborhood watch sorts, but they are just like the cops -- and just like lawyers, for that matter:  Some are good.  I organized ours on email to be able to share information, as that always is key -- and especially in a neighborhood with a lot of transiency, a lot of students.  That makes us a target neighborhood, until they learn from us to -- duh -- lock doors and the like.  And we also help them with the absentee landlords who do not make their places safe; we take turns calling landlords a lot more than we call cops!  (We could call the city on the landlords, but it's a lot more effective, I find, to call them first.)

"It's clear he was struck and his head made contact with the concrete," said Root, who also interviewed Zimmerman to form his opinion. Zimmerman would have found himself physically "lacking" in a confrontation with Trayvon, Root said.

Later, O'Mara asked Root whether Root believed Zimmerman had any other option than to shoot Trayvon.

"I don't believe he did," Root replied.

Root, however, acknowledged that Trayvon could have been trying to get away or backing up from Zimmerman when the teen was shot.

He also added that he didn't query Zimmerman about how Trayvon approached him, how the fight may have moved, and how Zimmerman dropped several items away from Trayvon's body. Root also said he didn't give much weight to statements by Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with Trayvon moments before the shooting, or to the time gap between when Zimmerman ended his call with police and shot Trayvon.