Zimmerman made mistakes in his role

An issue in the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case has gone largely unaddressed. That is the role of neighborhood watches. Zimmerman made at least three serious mistakes in his role.

I base my conclusions on my own experience in a neighborhood watch program in Chicago in 1970. We lived in a neighborhood that was rapidly changing from white to black, but at a time when we still had hope that the area could be integrated.

With a few assaults on nurses leaving a small hospital in the neighborhood, car break-ins, and other incidents, we began to work with the police department to establish a neighborhood watch program. There were several cardinal rules we had to follow.

First, never go out alone. We always went in teams, one white, one black. Second, never confront anyone. If a situation seemed to warrant official attention, we were to alert the police immediately with our two-way radios. Third, never carry a weapon.

If Zimmerman had followed these three rules, the confrontation leading to Martin's death never would have happened. Zimmerman would have had a much better life as well. And we would all have been spared this agonizing trial and the potential for violence afterward.

Jeremy Brigham

Cedar Rapids