Witnesses are making it clear that George Zimmerman, a police-watch volunteer, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an African-American high school student, in self-defense after Martin knocked him to the ground and beat him.

However, nobody can blame Martin for being angry or scared! Zimmerman recklessly mishandled the entire episode and should have listened when he was told to stop following Martin.

Police-watch volunteers should behave like police officers. Volunteers ought to be required to wear police uniforms; carry and show proper identification; and receive some police training themselves. They must always be supervised by experienced police officers! This is dangerous work and police are injured in fights all the time, but they can’t blow someone away with a gun, unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Florida’s “Standing Your Ground” law needs to be reformed, too, because Trayvon stood his ground, too. You can’t blow someone away with a gun, just because he confronts you, after you’ve been following him around. We’ve become a trigger-happy nation and we must respect life, including those we consider suspicious or strange.