President of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable Earl Ofari Hutchinson addresses a crowd before the vote (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Briggs)

Los Angeles is now the largest city to formally endorse the civil rights probe. Council member Bernard Parks introduced the resolution last week due in part to the outrage of his constituents over the ruling.

“Even though it happened in Florida, based on the response in L.A., the councilman thought people couldn’t ignore [the ruling],” said Kimberly Briggs, a press secretary for Parks. 

Protestors in Los Angeles have united in demonstrations since the ruling, including one that shut down parts of Interstate ten on July 14.

See Also: Hundreds Of Trayvon Martin Protestors Close L.A. Streets

Briggs made sure to mention that the support for the investigation would increase awareness of social justice for all, not just for one ethnic group.

“We’re telling the federal government that this is not a race issue, it’s a civil rights issue,” Briggs said. 

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, President of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, celebrated the measure. Hutchinson also said that he hopes L.A. city council will serve as a "national model to other cities' governing bodies who have some lingering doubts about the Florida ruling."

On July 13  a Florida state court acquitted George Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges against the African-American teenager. 

The defense testified that Zimmerman, a volunteer with the neighborhood watch, shot Martin out of self-defense. 

The incident occurred in February 2012, when Zimmerman, a volunteer with the neighborhood watch in Samford, Florida, shot 17-year-old Martin, who was walking to his father’s fiancee’s house from a convenience store.

Both the ruling and the case itself have hit a nerve with civil rights activists, who argue that it continues a legacy of racial profiling against young black men by the justice system, the police, and anyone in a position of authority. 

See Also: George Zimmerman Not Guilty In Death Of Trayvon Martin

On that night in February, Zimmerman spotted Martin walking back from the store from the inside of his car. He then called police because he thought the teenager looked suspicious. Even though the 911 dispatcher told him that he had sent officers and not to approach Martin, Zimmerman got out of the car. Later, he told police that he wanted to get an exact address of the location of his sighting.

Soon after that, the two men then engaged in a physical confrontation. Authorities questioned later who the instigator was, whether Martin reached for Zimmerman’s gun, and if the scuffle should have left Zimmerman with more injuries, according to CNN.

In court, the six jurors acquitted Zimmerman, due in part to a lack of physical evidence. 

After the ruling, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) started a petition urging the Justice Department to file civil rights charges against Zimmerman. It has gathered over one million signatures. 

The justice probe, “is not an effort to redo the trial, but to look at the case in a historical and racial context,” said council member Gilbert Cedillo.

Reach Staff Reporter Anne Artley here