Jealous said Martin’s family may bring a civil suit against Zimmerman but said federal criminal charges must be filed because evidence suggests race was a factor in the case.
He told CNN the black community is upset with a situation in which ‘our young people have to fear the bad guys and the good guys. The robbers and the cops and the self-appointed community watch volunteer who think that they’re keeping folks safer.’
Sharpton, who called the verdict ‘a slap in the face to the American people,’ cited the example of Rodney King, the man whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police triggered rioting two decades ago after a state criminal trial found the police officers not guilty.