There has been a bit of talk about Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman and his ties to the area—he grew up in Manassas, and the Post even has a profile of him in today’s paper. But while 17-year-old Trayvon—who was unarmed when Zimmerman shot him—never lived nearby, D.C. has had its share of similar cases. A couple nights ago, City Paper alum Jason Cherkis tweeted a few links to stories about similar cases. We thought we’d share them here:

DeOnte Rawlings Is Gone. The Cops Are Cleared. What’s Left?
The 2007 case of a 14-year-old who was shot in the back of the head by an off-duty MPD officer. The officer claimed Rawlings (pictured here) stole his minibike and then fired a gun. Somehow Rawlings was shot in the back of the head, and the cops fled the scene. There’s no physical evidence that Rawlings ever had a weapon, and some doubt that was the same boy who stole the minibike. No charges were brought against the officers involved, though last year, D.C. settled the case with the family for an undisclosed sum.

A troubled man needed help. He got shot instead.
David Kerstetter had mental health and addiction issues—he ended up dead after cops entered his home in 2008. Police said he had a knife, which necessitated lethal force, but there was no evidence of a struggle.

Overkill
A 1998 profile of an MPD officer: “Officer Kristopher Payne piled up some big numbers as a D.C. cop: hundreds of arrests, dozens of guns captured, and multiple convictions. He also had five citizen complaints, three civil suits, and two contested shootings.”

Black Victim, Black Cop, Black County
The complicated story of Prince Jones, a Howard University student who was killed in 2000 by a Prince George’s county police officer under mysterious circumstances. Nearly six years later, a judge found the officer liable for Jones’ death.

A rally for Martin is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday at Freedom Plaza.