Video shows Zimmerman's account of fatal fight

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By MIKE SCHNEIDER

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - George Zimmerman appears believable when he re-enacts for police what he says led to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, but some of his statements are questionable, lawyers who reviewed the footage Thursday said.

Even a detective who interrogates the neighborhood watch leader in an audio recording points out inconsistencies in his story, particularly Zimmerman's claim that Martin confronted him, punched him and slammed his head onto the ground when the teenager had no prior history of violence.

Detective Chris Sereno asks Zimmerman whether he was profiling Martin because he was black, a claim Martin's parents have made.

"You know you are going to come under a lot of scrutiny for this," Sereno said. "Had this person been white, would you have felt the same way?"

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120622/D9VHTPOG2.html

[Tx4obama]

1. Zimmerman slipped up, said: ''And then he put his hand on HIS NOSE --no, my nose...''

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/101736076

[rks306]

2. Screaming

He said that he was the one that screamed, wrong. Wow, didn't look like he had a broken nose.

[FarPoint]

4. He has no timely medical assessment on file as evidence.

Those bandaide butterflies on the back of his head are never used in the hospital ER. He appears to of gotten them at the Walgreen's. Typically but not always when one gets a broken nose in trauma...they have black eyes....Zimmy didn't even have facial bruising.

[slackmaster]

6. Are you suggesting the Sanford PD stopped at Walgreen's on the way to the station and allowed him...

...to buy bandages?

Or is your thinking more along the lines of the police gave him the bandages?

[uppityperson]

15. Since the video was the next day, he could have had them at home and applied them before the cops

picked him up to do this.

[slackmaster]

17. I'm not sure that he was released between his initial arrest and that video

I was under the impression that he was released AFTER being questioned, and that the video we are discussing was the questioning.

[uppityperson]

18. I thought he was in police custody for ~ 5 hrs. 8 pm-1 am. This was later that next day.

This was not shot at 1 am. He was released from police custody then they filmed this later the day after the shooting.

[nanabugg]

33. This is an "re-enactment" based on an unchallenged account by the perp.

How in the hell can this be shown to a jury as fact?

[Scootaloo]

3. HE'S NOT A NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH LEADER! Jesus fucking christ, still with this?

Not screeching at you, Steve, just... damn, they're still pulling that shit?

Also, that's how the Detective does his work? "Mr. suspect sir, I'm just going to leave you this opening, and while I won't ask that you take it, please feel free..."

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

32. He was more a vigilante

vigilante (noun)
1. A person who considers it their own responsibility to uphold the law in their neighborhood.

The real Neighborhood Watch has said Zimmerman didn't belong to their group, and that the organization has a strict prohibition on carrying guns.

[slackmaster]

7. That is typically the case when police fatally shoot people as well

Often there are no corroborating witnesses at all, or only other police officers.

Investigations have to rely entirely on evidence other than testimony of the deceased.

[cbrer]

13. Thank you for crystallizing the subject

And clarifying it to it's single fatal legal aspect.

Not that THAT will make a damned bit of difference to this discussion.

[hack89]

20. I don't think he is using SYG as a defense - he doesn't really need to

regular self defense laws are adequate.

[hack89]

24. My point is that as the aggressor he cannot use SYG

but Florida law has specific instances where the aggressor can claim self defense. His case to this point convinces me that that is what his defense will ultimately be. Those particular laws have been in place well before SYG.

I think the entire self defense law gets labeled by the press as the "SYG law" when in reality all SYG did was extended existing law to public places. The standards for self defense pre-date the SYG and I think those standards are what he will argue.

[slackmaster]

35. That article does not quote Zimmerman saying "Stand Your Ground." He's not going to cite SYG.

Based on the recently-released videos it's become clear to me that Zimmerman's position will be that he was attacked by Trayvon Martin, unprovoked. Zimmerman's claim of self-defense will be an old-fashioned common law claim. He won't say he was standing his ground.

The defense will claim that Trayvon was beating Zimmerman, and in effect using the concrete sidewalk as a weapon.

The prosecution will claim that Trayvon was acting in self-defense because Zimmerman had been stalking him.

This case will not be easy for the jury to figure out, I am afraid.

[Magleetis]

8. None of this would have happened

If GZ wouldn't have stalked him in the first place. GZ went looking for trouble, he found it. When he got his ass justifiably kicked he killed Trayvon. Trayvon was the one standing his ground. Pretty simple. Now lets watch the inept american justice system fuck it all up.

[slackmaster]

9. GZ certainly used poor judgment and could have prevented the entire tragic interaction

[JDPriestly]

19. We don't know that Trayvon attacked Zimmerman. That is Zimmerman's

version. If Trayvon were alive today, he might tell a different story.

How often does a defendant in a murder case admit to having intended to kill the victim? It does happen but think about the Phil Spector case. Spector claimed that the woman he was convicted of killing just killed herself.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/14/local/me-spector14

This Zimmerman testimony points out a big flaw in the Stand Your Ground law. If a shooting that occurs in the absence of attentive witnesses results in a death, only the killer survives to recount the "facts" about the event. If the killer enjoys the presumption of innocence, it is all too easy for that killer to tell a story in a sincere, convincing manner that may or may not be the objective truth (assuming such a thing exists). It isn't a matter of a person being a liar. It is human nature to paint yourself in a favorable light.

To justify continuing to live, they have to believe "I am a good person and therefore could not have done something criminal like taking the life of another without a good reason. I had to do it. It was self-defense."

Rationalizing irrational, "bad" behavior is probably necessary to our survival. Only an extremely strong, spiritually evolved (not necessarily religious) person can face ugly truths about him/herself.

You see this every day. How do arms manufacturers go home and hug their kids at night? They rationalize the fact that they make their living creating machines that kill and maim and cause suffering.

If people did not rationalize bad behavior, there would be no marital infidelity, no drug and alcohol abuse, no domestic violence, a lot less yelling and screaming, no cheating, no stealing, no graft or corruption. It would be a different world.

(The entire Republican Party leadership is an illustration of the rationalization of positively evil greed and corruption. In fact, many politicians of both parties and extremely wealthy people share the ability to rationalize the really big crimes that they commit.)

So what Zimmerman believes and says happened may or may not be what happened. Whether the judge or jury believe him and whether his version of the truth is supported by other evidence is the question.

Zimmerman has at least one accusation of assault in his past history. So far, we haven't heard of Trayvon assaulting anyone. The "facts" that Zimmerman tells about how he and Trayvon met and how the fight began are extremely subjective. At a trial, some of the "evidence" including some second-hand statements about what he said and she said may not be admitted.

How much of Zimmerman's statement might be admitted into testimony? We can guess, but we can't know for sure.

So, this video may or may not help Zimmerman. A lot will depend on other evidence.

But one thing is certain, we don't know the truth and never will. At a trial, Zimmerman will have the benefit of the doubt. We shall see what happens.

[JDPriestly]

25. THat will depend on the jury.

[JDPriestly]

31. You make a good point, but the jury gets the official last word.

After they have spoken, we get to review the evidence they saw and make up our own minds.

The jury's decision is the only one that counts -- unless an appellate court takes the case up.

[slackmaster]

27. I think you are missing the point of the defense that Zimmerman is attempting to weave

His position will be that he followed Martin because the police dispatcher asked him to determine where Martin was headed; that he lost track of Martin and had given up. He will claim that he had disengaged from the pursuit and was headed back to his vehicle when Martin jumped him.

If he can get the jury to believe that version of reality, then Trayvon Martin may be seen as having no justification for attacking Zimmerman.

If the defense can pull that off, Zimmerman will walk.

I maintain that Zimmerman is at fault because he initiated the entire interaction. The defense will attempt to create a scenario in which there was more than one interaction - One in which Zimmerman merely followed at a distance and observed, and a second encounter in which Trayvon Martin brutally attacked Zimmerman.

[Blue_Tires]

10. Not naming names, but where are our resident Zimmerman defenders?

These threads lately are so incredibly quiet when once upon a time they were guaranteed for 250+ posts...Where is that mentally crippled troll with like 20 sockpuppet accounts who joined DU just to give us his (highly speculative and mostly imaginary) insights on this case?? Well, now that your boy has given his 'official' story, aren't you now more convinced than ever of his justifications? Was Trayvon Martin not some ghetto piece of shit criminal who got what was coming to him? After all, given his socio-economic background, Martin was going to end up in prison or dead on the street anyway, so Zimmerman was just cutting through the red tape, right?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

11. A young black kid who engaged in some mild teenage mischief....

.....yup, I'm sure the future is bleak for him. Probably will end up dead or in jail or homeless.

Kind of like this young black kid who was prone to some mild teenage mischief:



Wonder what became of him? Probably living in some gutter or something.

[LynneSin]

12. "Stand your ground" laws do not just apply to white folks

The moment that Zimmerman started stalking Trayvon Martin, Martin then should have the same rights to protect himself. If anything this story from Zimmerman only showcases the fact that in his last minutes of life Trayvon Martin did everything he could to survive. The same thing any of us would have done if we were confronted by a man who was following us and then chasing after us with a gun.

[MzShellG]

28. So true

That fact seems to go straight over most folks head. Here's a teenager minding his business. Suddenly he's being stalked by some weirdo in a truck who then gets out to confront Trayvon. This is an unarmed teen. I wouldve have defintely instructed my son to defend his freedom & stand his own ground. Ofcourse he had to fight off his attacker who, by the way, has a weapon. Yet Zimmerman is portrayed as the victim when he instigated the whole thing.

[slackmaster]

36. Zimmerman is not going to claim protection under Florida's Stand Your Ground law.

The defense might make an attempt to have the case dismissed in a pretrial motion, but they're going to call it common-law self-defense.

Stand Your Ground will not be a factor in the outcome.

[Smilo]

14. Pack of lies.............

it doesn't explain why Trayvon was found face down.

And who the hell uses the term "firearm" instead of gun?

[uppityperson]

16. Wanna be cops like Zimmy.

[NoodleyAppendage]

34. The video helps support Zimmerman's version regardless of what you may wish...

...to believe.

Zimmerman may have profiled, but Martin was no angelic kid.

J

[slackmaster]

37. It makes me wonder what the prosecution is going to rely on as evidence

The ear witness accounts are generally murky and non-conclusive.

They must have something they believe to be compelling evidence of guilt.

[dpibel]

38. Analytical breakdown

This video helps support Zimmerman's version because...ummm...

This video is Zimmerman's version.

What ever in the world does Martin's angelicism or lack thereof have to do with anything?

Oh.

Excuse me. I thought you were actually saying something.