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This incredibly sad story played out largely because GZ did NOT listen to the dispatcher in the first place. When GZ called 911 and requested advice as to what to do, i.e., whether (TM) should be "followed," the dispatcher said "No, we don't need you to do that." That should have been the end of it; instead GZ got out of his truck to pursue/confront TM. Why would you do that, unless perhaps a 'suspected perp' was imminently going to attack another person and you saw it about to happen, in which case you might have an immediate reason to get out of vehicle? That, I could understand, but what GZ did instead, which was to charge ahead on foot after TM, AGAINST police advice, was simply wrong. What kind of example is GZ setting for young people if he as an ADULT (and wannabe police officer) does not listen to police?
So what if TM had a hoodie on? Plenty of kids in my old neighborhood wore hoodies. I shudder to think that if you're a young black guy in the US, good luck, 'cause your days may be numbered. I worry about the kids my daughter grew up with: will they make it without running afoul of some reality-skewed armed vigilante? If you're going to arm yourself, a whole lot of responsibility goes along with that, and you want to work WITH the cops, not against them, by not endangering yourself or others. (By the way, my city's at least 55% African American. Many of the cops are, too.)