Politics & Government
Cardin Calls For Federal Investigation Into Trayvon Martin Shooting
The Maryland senator said federal agencies should focus on whether teen was a victim of racial profiling and if his civil rights were violated.
Maryland U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin is calling on federal authorities to continue to investigate the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
Cardin issued a statement Monday, two days after a jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the death of Martin.
"The fact that an unarmed Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman was never in dispute,” Cardin said in an emailed statement. “How and why this young man was shot to death, was left for a jury to determine. Many of us may not agree with the verdict, but we should abide by the wishes of Trayvon's grieving parents and not allow our emotions to cause greater hurt and sadness for any family."Protests in response to the verdict have sprung up in Baltimore and other cities around the country.
Cardin called on the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to “finalize their investigations into whether young Trayvon Martin's civil rights were violated as a victim of racial profiling, as well as how local law enforcement handled this case and whether it was treated any differently because Trayvon Martin was African American.
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“I have called for putting an end to racial profiling by law enforcement, a wasteful practice that singles out individuals based on race, ethnic origin, or [religion],” Cardin said in his statement.
Justice Department officials, in a statement, said those agencies mention in Cardin’s statement and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida “continue to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal investigation, as well as the evidence and testimony from the state trial. Experienced federal prosecutors will determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation of any of the limited federal criminal civil rights statutes within our jurisdiction, and whether federal prosecution is appropriate in accordance with the Department's policy governing successive federal prosecution following a state trial.”
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Cardin called for continued calm in the wake of the verdict but said “African-American community and other minority communities have a right to be outraged by the fact that their young men continue to be singled out for suspicion and viewed as dangerous – even walking home from a convenience store.
“Profiling based on race, ethnicity, national origin or religion - by law enforcement or anyone - has no place in America,” Cardin said in his statement. “We should stop making excuses and have a frank, conversation in our neighborhoods and at a national level, about how to break down the racial barriers that continue to erode trust within and between communities."
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