Attorney: Clearwater 'Stand Your Ground' shooting was 'cold-blooded murder'
CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - A prominent attorney is now representing the family of the victim-centered in the latest "Stand Your Ground" shooting.
Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney, spoke Thursday morning comparing the similarities of the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012 to the shooting death of the Markeis McGlockton, which occurred a week ago outside a Clearwater convenience store.
Crump famously represented Martin’s family. He announced Wednesday he will join the team representing the McGlockton's family, calling the deadly shooting a "cold-blooded murder."
Last Thursday, McGlockton shoved the alleged shooter, Michael Drejka, to the ground after the 47-year-old confronted McGlockton’s girlfriend for parking in a handicapped spot. Within four seconds, Drejka pulled out his gun while on the ground, and fired one round, killing McGlockton. Crump said McGlockton is seen in surveillance video taking at least two steps back within the time frame.
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"It is not reasonable for him to shoot and kill a person who is retreating. The individual is the initial aggressor," Crump explained, referring to Drejka, "starts the confrontation and then kills the unarmed black person and claims its self-defense."
He said the shooting also sheds light to racism and questions why Drejka wasn't arrested the night of the shooting.
"Imagine if the roles were reversed and you had a black man approach a white woman sitting in the car with her two white toddler children in the backseat and the white father came out to protect his family," Crump said. "Does anyone doubt that he would have been arrested?"
Crump said he plans to ask for local and state leaders, along with the NAACP, to amend the Stand Your Ground law.
“We plan on asking the legislature to consider the amendments to Stand Your Ground," he said. "If you are the aggressor -- and it can be clearly shown that you are the aggressor -- you should not get the benefit and the immunity of Stand Your Ground. You can’t start a confrontation and kill somebody and say, 'Oh, I was just standing my ground.' Why did you start the confrontation in the first place?"
Demonstrations have been occurring during the week demanding justice for McGlockton. His father, Michael McGlockton, said his only son was just doing what he raised him to do: protect his family.
"As a man, when you have a son, the first thing you do is you raise him to be a man," he explained during the press conference. "Unfortunately, that’s all my son was doing. Any man out there would’ve done the exact same thing. If you push a man down to the ground that man does not deserve to shot. Stand up and fight with your fist. You don’t shoot a man because a man pushes you to the ground.”
At the end of Michael's speech, he said, "We want justice -- justice for Markeis McGlockton."