I’ve run this case by my security guard friend.

But first, you need to know that private security in Texas is nothing like the negative image portrayed in Hollywood’s long running comedy/hate campaign against the profession. Since 2005, security guards here have been trained and licensed by the Department of Public Safety, specifically the Highway Patrol. Results have been very good, despite some complaints from certain clients and operators about industry wages having doubled in that time. You get what you pay for. If what you pay for includes a gun, you probably don’t want to skimp.

In any case, the security guy says Zimmerman started to go wrong literally the second he first spotted young Martin. A kid on a public street is not especially suspicious, even if he is “out of place.” There are a million reasons he could be there. “Out of place” is really one of the most widespread public myths. According to my guard friend, there is almost no such thing, unless the person appears lost or confused, for which there are obvious body-language signals.

Secondly, you don’t trail after someone, especially not in a vehicle. If you do want to talk to the person, you pull ahead of them and stop and get out. If they seem alarmed, say something re-assuring, anything. If you must, tell them some paranoid fool reported them and you are required to check it out as a tiresome matter of routine. This is even the truth in a lot of cases.

If you feel safe and the person seems apprehensive about being on the street, offer them a ride, especially if the person is a minor. Many patrol companies don’t allow this but more and more do.

Finally, and most obviously, you do exactly what the police dispatcher tells you to do. The dispatcher often knows more than you do about the situation. Sometimes they are wrong but that is not the way to bet.

Amateur security is the same as amateur policing, much potential for harm and little for good.