Watching the George Zimmerman trial, I'm reminded of how inexperienced the general public is when it comes to violent, and especially life-threatening, situations. In the Zimmerman case, it appears obvious that he was following Trayvon Martin because the young man was walking around a burglary-prone area at night during a light rain.

Now, try to imagine that you are Mr. Zimmerman, and you're suddenly attacked by a suspicious-looking character, who breaks your nose with one punch before he viciously assaults you as you lie bleeding. You're screaming for help, but no one responds. Afraid that you might pass out and the assailant will kill you, self-preservation takes over, and you reach for your gun and use it.

How many people would have done otherwise? This is a classic example of self-defense, and if the skin colors of the participants were reversed, we would not be seeing this sham of a trial.

Having been in similar circumstances numerous times during 20 years as a police officer in New York City, I can easily relate to the actions of Mr. Zimmerman. Whether I was making an arrest after a pursuit or merely stopping a suspect to inquire about his actions near a crime scene, I often found myself in a sudden-death struggle with a violent person who might be desperate enough to kill me. Trust me: you never know what you're capable of until you think you're about to die.

The greatest fear a cop has in a struggle with a suspect or a prisoner is losing possession of his guns. What cops learn from experience is that every violent encounter has the potential to end in the loss of life -- either theirs or the assailant's. A cop learns early in his career that anyone crazy enough to fight him is crazy enough to kill him.

I've investigated, chased, and arrested many burglars. Some gave up after capture, while others turned on me and decided not to be taken without a fight. Also, in many instances, while I was questioning someone in an area that had been a target for burglars, as soon as the suspect realized an arrest was imminent, the fight-or-flight response took over. Like Mr. Zimmerman, I was in civilian clothes, but it was obvious that I represented authority.

One might ask: if you had so many physical confrontations with desperate people, how come you never shot anyone, while Mr. Zimmerman had one such incident and ended up using deadly force? The answer might be that I was more capable of overcoming resistance because of my size and my commitment to physical fitness. Yet, as the saying goes, there but for the grace of God go I. On more than one occasion I came close to firing my gun because an armed thug was hesitating to drop his weapon, or he was trying to get control of mine.

What has become apparent in the Zimmerman trial is that Florida authorities have decided to succumb to the usual cry for blood whenever a black is killed by a white. The fact that blacks and whites are killed by blacks, just about hourly in this country, without any publicity beyond the local area where the homicide occurred, is a stunning example of how one-sided racial politics has become. The fact that Zimmerman wasn't strong enough to fight off the pummeling being administered to him by a shadowy figure in the dark of night didn't seem to convince prosecutors that he was the victim, not the aggressor. Hence, it's readily apparent that the only way Zimmerman could have avoided this charade masquerading as a quest for justice would be for him to have allowed his attacker to bludgeon him to death.

If justice is actually done, Zimmerman's actions will be deemed self-defense, and he'll be acquitted. I wouldn't bet the farm on that, because Florida authorities are deathly afraid that the usual race-hustlers will be on the streets crying, "Justice for Trayvon." I feel bad for Zimmerman because he's facing up to life imprisonment for an action that probably saved his life. Nevertheless, had he not taken that action, he could be long dead and forgotten. After all, he's only white -- or rather, white Hispanic.