Last night, ABC News released an exclusive video of George Zimmerman being lead from a police vehicle and into the Sanford police station. A singular debate has spread across the nation after viewing the recording which leads with, “What does it prove?”
In a rash of reports that have rocketed out of Florida in the last few days, many of which attempting to paint a less than innocent picture of the victim, including his high school suspension records, tweets, erroneous Facebook photos, and various photographs from the 17-year-old’s life, the real substantial evidence in the case has been quite minimal. After the release of the fine trickle of information we’ve become accustomed to over the last few weeks, what usually follows is a lot of conjecture, conflicting reports, and many more questions than answers. In what has basically become the protestations of the accused, and the silence of the victim, a story is being formed, but the sticking point should always be about the facts of the case and the corresponding relevant information.
Fact:
George Zimmerman was arrested in 2005 for assaulting a police officer, and twice later for domestic violence charges against his then fiancée. He’s also called 911 forty-six times. Based on those 911 calls Mother Jones refers to Zimmerman as, “a man obsessed with law and order, with the minutiae of suburban life, and with black males.”
“At 9:02 p.m. on September 21, 2005, he called 911 about a stray dog on Skyline Drive. At 7:22 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, 2005, he called 911 about a “pothole that is blocking [the] road.” Then there was the pile of trash in the road near the local Kohl’s, which he reported on Nov. 8, 2010. “[Complainant] states it appears recently dumped and appears to contain glass,” the dispatcher dutifully reported.
Zimmerman reported a male driving with no headlights; a yellow speedbike popping wheelies on I-4; an aggressive white-and-brown pitbull; an Orange County municipal pickup cutting people off on the road; loud parties; open garage doors; and the antics of an ex-roommate. On September 9, 2009, he called to report another pothole, this one on Greenwood road, advising the dispatcher that “it is deep and can cause damage to vehicles.” This past January, he called to report five or six children, ages 4 to 11, playing in the neighborhood. The kids, he told a dispatcher, “play in the street and like to run out [in front of] cars.” At 2:38 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2006, he called about a late-model Red Toyota pickup “driving real slow looking at all the [vehicles] in the complex and blasting music from his [vehicle].”
In August 2011, he called to report a black male in a tank top and shorts acting suspicious near the development’s back entrance. “[Complainant] believes [subject] is involved in recent S-21s”-break-ins-“in the neighborhood,” the call log states. Three days later, he called to report two black teens in the same area, for the same reason. And last month, on Feb. 2, Zimmerman called to report a suspicious black man in a leather jacket near one of the development’s units.
Fact:
Trayvon Martin was suspended three times from high school for truancy, graffiti, and for having in his possession a baggie that contained trace amounts of marijuana residue.
Fact:
Trayvon Martin was shot and killed after interacting with George Zimmerman, who began following Martin in his vehicle. While speaking with a police dispatcher, Zimmerman left his vehicle and pursued Martin on foot. When asked about the pursuit by the dispatcher, Zimmerman admitted to following Martin, and was told by the dispatcher that he “didn’t need to do that.”
Fact:
During Zimmerman’s pursuit, Martin was on his cell phone talking to his 16-year-old girlfriend whose cell phone records corroborate this fact. By her account she hears Martin ask Zimmerman what he wanted, and heard Zimmerman’s responding question asking what Martin was doing in the neighborhood. The witness says a scuffle ensues, the phone is dropped, and she loses contact.
Fact:
Screams and a gunshot can be heard in the 911 calls that follow. A 13-year-old witness sees a man laying on the ground.
Austin McLendon: I saw a man laying (sic) on the ground that needed help, that was screaming and then I was going to go over there to try to help him, but my dog got off the leash, so I went and got my dog, and then I heard a loud sound and then the screaming stopped.
Dispatcher: Did you see the person get shot? Did you know the person that was shot, or did you see the person that had the gun?
Austin McLendon: No, I just heard a loud sound and then the screaming stopped.
Fact:
A spokesman for the Sanford police department confirms that police chief Bill Lee, along with Capt. Robert O’Connor, the investigations supervisor, were on hand at the crime scene. They also conferred with State Attorney Norman Wolfinger in person about the case on the same night as the shooting. This strikes many in law enforcement as a strange occurrence — the appearance of the police chief, captain, and State Attorney all meeting about this one case with such expedience.
Fact:
Homicide investigator, Chris Serino filed an affidavit on February 26th stating that he did not believe Zimmerman’s account of the shooting. He recommended charging the 28-year-old with manslaughter, but was advised by Wolfinger’s office that there wasn’t enough evidence to secure a conviction. Zimmerman was subsequently released.
Fact:
Based upon the police report and statements from the shooter, his father, and his attorney, Zimmerman claims to have been beaten about the face by Martin with his head slammed repeatedly on the concrete also by Martin. The report also states that Zimmerman was bleeding from the back of the head and the nose for which he received treatment, or first aid, from paramedics at the scene. Zimmerman’s attorney states that the assault on his face may have resulted in a broken nose, and Zimmerman’s father states that there was a large gash on the back of his head. His father, a former magistrate judge, also recounts that Martin said to Zimmerman during the scuffle, “You’re going to die tonight.”
Fact:
Zimmerman’s lawyer and “good friend” make the talk show rounds on Tuesday, March 27. However, the lawyer abruptly backs out of an interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, and the following evening O’Donnell and the New York Times‘ Charles Blow grill “good friend” Joe Oliver about his relationship with Zimmerman. Odd and often conflicting stories about their relationship abound. Oliver admits to quitting his job to take on the role of Zimmerman spokesman, but then says he doesn’t really know what his role is.
Fact:
The video surveillance tape is leaked to ABC News.
Layman Observation:
What can be seen in the tape is a relaxed and handcuffed Zimmerman exiting the police vehicle without needing assistance. There is no visible blood on his face, back of the head, or clothing. There is no obvious visual bruising or signs that he suffered any injuries. He moves his head with ease, his gait is sure, and his posture is erect. He is neither unkempt or disheveled. His demeanor is calm with no visible emotion shown. The police are perfunctory if not lenient in their cursory observation. Zimmerman is not held by officers. None are flanking him as he walks from one section to another, and none wear gloves to survey his face, head, or clothing. At no time in the police report is it mentioned that the vehicle holding Zimmerman stopped on the way to the station, or that Zimmerman asked or was required to go to a hospital for medical attention. The Daily Caller reports that there appears to be a vertical laceration or a scar of some kind that’s viewable. At no time during the recording does this laceration appear to be covered by a bandage.
Fact:
During the investigation that follows, Trayvon Martin’s body was held in the morgue for three days listed as a John Doe, however, his full name and address were present on the police report dated 2/26/12. A representative from the funeral parlor that took his body indicates that there were no signs of struggle on the body when it was presented to them. No scratches or scrapes on Martin’s hands, no bruising of the knees or other markings of trauma that would indicate a life or death altercation had occurred, only the single gun shot wound to the chest.
It seems in the coming days we’ll probably hear more about this case and where it stands in its 33rd day of being open, but from the information that’s gathered now, minimally, the questions raised by Zimmerman’s actions, those of his representatives, and the police department — one thing is becoming clear — this is definitely a case that never should have been swept under the rug with little to no consideration of the facts in the case. Even a layman reviewing the information can suss out that there is more to the story here. Trayvon Martin’s family is right in wanting answers. It must be chilling to see the man who just murdered your son looking so nonchalant about the fact that he just took a life as if the boy didn’t matter. That alone means that keeping pressure on the Sanford police department is the right course of action — because possibly had it not been their son, it may have surely been another “son,” and while Zimmerman is still free, the potential for killing and calling self-defense yet again is still an option.
