Al Sharpton plans action if no arrest is made soon in Trayvon Martin slaying

ORLANDO, Fla. – If George Zimmerman is not arrested soon in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, the Rev. Al Sharpton says he will call for an escalation in peaceful civil disobedience and economic sanctions.

Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist and syndicated television show host, said he will reveal details of his plan later today at a march in Sanford, from the Crooms Academy of Information Technology to the Sanford Police Department headquarters.

The protest will be organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Coordinators said people will be bused in from other states to participate.

“I will speak about how the National Action Network will move to the next level if Zimmerman isn’t arrested,” Sharpton said.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is also expected to participate in the event.

While Martin’s Feb. 26 death continues to stir debate and public protests, lawyers said this week that a significant financial fallout could fall on Martin’s neighbors in the Retreat at Twin Lakes development in Sanford.

If Zimmerman, a crime watch program captain, is charged with and convicted of killing Martin, the community’s homeowners association and property management company will likely be sued by the victim’s family over the way the program was established and operated, said Donna Berger, a lawyer who specializes in homeowners associations.

“They may wind up getting sued and getting hit with hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and damages,” said Berger, who works with the South Florida law firm Katzman, Garfinkel and Berger.

“Who will pay is every member of the association, and they will have to make special assessments. … It’s a cautionary tale for other associations.”

About six miles west of historic downtown Sanford, the 6-year-old Retreat at Twin Lakes contains about 200 two-story town homes.

Don O’Brien, president of the homeowners association’s board, would not comment, and other members of the board did not return phone calls.

Leland Management is the community’s property manager, but no one from that company returned phone calls from The Orlando Sentinel.

Zimmerman was the point person for the subdivision’s Neighborhood Watch.

The September edition of the community’s newsletter stated: “To receive Neighborhood Watch updates, safety tips and be noticed [sic] of any suspicious activity within your community, call George Zimmerman.”

Source Star Telegram