Who Is George Zimmerman and What About the Police?

Who is George Zimmerman?

The shooter was once a Catholic altar boy — with a surname that could have been Jewish. His father is white, neighbors say. His mother is Latina. And his family is eager to point out that some of his relatives are black.

There may be no box to check for George Zimmerman, no tidy way to categorize, define and sort the 28-year-old man whose pull of a trigger on a darkened Florida street is forcing America to once again confront its fraught relationship with race and identity. The victim, we know, was named Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager in a hoodie. The rest becomes a matter for interpretation.

So, obviously Zimmerman is of a culturally/racially/ethinically/whateverly diverse background.

Zimmerman’s life was not without difficulties. In 2001 — when he was 17 or 18 — he was the victim of a minor criminal assault, said Manassas police Sgt. Eddie Rivera. The city’s computer records do not provide details of the crime.

In school, Zimmerman hinted at ambitions in the business world. He joined a Future Business Leaders of America club. And in his senior yearbook, he wrote: “I’m going to Florida to work with my godfather who just bought a $1 million business.”

In Florida, Zimmerman shifted his plans, enrolling in Seminole State College with hopes of becoming a law enforcement officer. He became the self-appointed protector of the streets around his home, although his neighborhood watch organization was not officially registered.

He called the police department at least 46 times since 2004 to report everything from open garages to suspicious people. In 2005, according to police records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel and other news organizations, Zimmerman was twice accused of either criminal misconduct or violence.

He had a concealed-weapon permit and had a black Kel-Tec semiautomatic handgun and a holster the night Martin died.

Washington Post

In my opinion, he was the victim of a crime once, an assault which is traumatic...so he decided he wanted to be a cop but he failed, now I have to wonder how much that failure affected him. He self appointed himself as captain of his neighborhood watch.

A volunteer community watch captain who shot an unarmed Florida teenager to death last month had been the subject of complaints by neighbors in his gated community for aggressive tactics, a homeowner said.

George Zimmerman has not been charged in the Feb. 26 shooting of Trayvon Martin, 17, who was walking home from a convenience store in Sanford, Fla., near Orlando. Zimmerman, who patrolled the Retreat at Twin Lakes development in his own car, had been called aggressive in earlier complaints to the local police and the homeowner's association, according to a homeowner who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

At an emergency homeowner’s association meeting on March 1, “one man was escorted out because he openly expressed his frustration because he had previously contacted the Sanford Police Department about Zimmerman approaching him and even coming to his home,” the resident wrote in an email to HuffPost. “It was also made known that there had been several complaints about George Zimmerman and his tactics" in his neighborhood watch captain role.

The meeting was attended by Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, the detective assigned to the investigation and an unnamed member of the city council, according to the homeowner’s association newsletter. The chief couldn't immediately be reached for comment about the complaints. A member of the homeowner’s association board, who asked not to be quoted by name, said she “hadn’t heard about any complaints” about Zimmerman. Zimmerman's phone number is disconnected and efforts to reach him have been unsuccessful.

Huffington Post

I would say that normally I would find a watchful neighbor something to be appreciated, but it sounds like George was a bit over-zealous. I hope details of the complaints come out, so that we can get a clearer picture of his personality. Something I'm also wondering...does the fact that he's of a culturally diverse background mean that he didn't have an irrational fear of black males?

A stray dog, open garage doors, unfamiliar vehicles … and, on a rainy winter night, one black male teenager wearing “dark-gray hoodie, jeans or sweatpants.”

Whatever his complaint, George Zimmerman seemed quick to call the police. Over the course of nearly eight years, Zimmerman made at least 46 911 and non-emergency calls (PDF) to the police department in Sanford, Florida, culminating in the two fateful calls he made Feb. 26, shortly before he confronted and then fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

But starting in 2011, Zimmerman’s calls increasingly focused on what he considered “suspicious” characters walking around the neighborhood—almost all of whom were young black males.

On April 22, 2011, Zimmerman called to report a black male about “7-9” years old, four feet tall, with a “skinny build” and short black hair. There is no indication in the police report of the reason for Zimmerman’s suspicion of the boy.

On Aug. 3 of last year, Zimmerman reported a black male who he believed was “involved in recent” burglaries in the neighborhood.

And on Oct. 1 he reported two black male suspects “20-30” years old, in a white Chevrolet Impala. He told police he did “not recognize” the men or their vehicle and that he was concerned because of the recent burglaries.

The Daily Beast

Odd that he never called about non-black males...surely he didn't know by face all the non-black people in the gated community and certainly not all their visitors. We know the result of what happened after his last 911 call. Trayvon Martin ended up dead 100 yards from his father's home.

What about the Police?

Zimmerman called police the evening of the shooting to report Martin as a suspicious person, police have said. A dispatcher told Zimmerman to stand down and an officer was on the way. Zimmerman confronted the youth anyway and Martin was shot in the chest with Zimmerman's 9 mm pistol, police said. Police questioned Zimmerman, then released him. According to Martin’s family, police initially told them that Zimmerman said he acted in self-defense and that his record was “squeaky-clean.” Public records show he was arrested in Orange County in 2005 on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. Those charges were later dropped.

I wonder why the charges were dropped and why did the police lie to Trayvon Martin's family about it? And why did the family have to sue to get the 911 recordings? Maybe that is standard practice?

Benjamin Crump, the Martin family’s attorney, filed a public records lawsuit last week seeking the 911 recordings for the night of the shooting. Crump said people with access to the tapes told him Zimmerman made a comment about Martin’s race during the call and said he had no intention of letting the youth get away because, “they always get away.”

Huffington Post

But after the shooting, a source inside the police department told ABC News that a narcotics detective and not a homicide detective first approached Zimmerman. The detective pepppered Zimmerman with questions, the source said, rather than allow Zimmerman to tell his story. Questions can lead a witness, the source said.

Another officer corrected a witness after she told him that she heard the teen cry for help.
The officer told the witness, a long-time teacher, it was Zimmerman who cried for help, said the witness. ABC News has spoken to the teacher and she confirmed that the officer corrected her when she said she heard the teenager shout for help.

The Sanford Police Department refused to release 911 calls by witnesses and neighbors.
Several of the calls, ABC News has learned, contain the sound of the single gunshot.

Lee publically admitted that officers accepted Zimmerman's word at the scene that he had no police record.
Two days later during a meeting with Trayvon's father Tracy Martin, an officer told the father that Zimmerman's record was "squeaky clean."

Yet public records showed that Zimmerman was charged with battery against on officer and resisting arrest in 2005, a charge which was later expunged.
Zimmerman has not responded to requests for a comment.

"I asked [the police] well did you check out my son's record?" Tracy Martin told ABC News in an interview Sunday. "What about his?...Trayvon was innocent."

Trayvon Martin had no arrest record or disciplinary action for violence as a student in North Miami's Krop High School.

On Monday Lee, seeking to head off racial unrest, tried to reassure the public that his department was doing all it could to reach a fair conclusion, as some in the crowd heckled him saying "a little black boy is dead."

Lee's department said it plans on passing its investigation over to the state's attorney office to determine whether or not to press charges against Zimmerman.

ABC

It seems like the police severely mishandled this case. They didn’t check Zimmerman’s record, but they Checked Martin’s. They didn’t administer and drug or alcohol test even though it was a Narcotics Officer that questioned Zimmerman at the scene.

So we have a racially/ethnically/culturally diverse individual, and a Police Department that failed to follow the standard procedures on dealing with this case? I can see why the chief bailed; he knew this was going to stir up controversy.

reply to post by KonquestAbySS


Yes and I believe Zimmerman needs to stand trial and I don't understand why he's not been arrested.

reply to post by Kali74


Yes Zimmerman does need to stand a fair trial, but so does the Sanford Police Department. They have a lot of explaining to do just as much as Zimmerman does. No one is getting off the hook that easily.

reply to post by KonquestAbySS


Absolutely, I can't figure out why they would do such a horrible job...

reply to post by Kali74


'Racial profiling' is certainly not 'irrational'. Black males are more likely than males of other races to commit crime. No one complains when people profile men as opposed to women. People feel more threatened by men than women and change their behavior to accomodate that. Why is it suddenly such a huge issue when it comes to race?

reply to post by Charmed707


Why is it a huge issue? If you can't see the reasons right in front of your face in this case, you never will.

reply to post by Open2Truth


I'm asking why it's such a huge deal if Zimmerman was more suspicious of black males roaming the neighborhood than other races. The neighborhood had been dealing with break-ins. The OP is making assumptions about Zimmerman's judgement when he made those calls to the police. Zimmerman actually saw the behavior of the people he reported. They could have been peering in houses and such.

The bad part isn't that he isn't going to get put through the system. Apparently he is.

What Sanford Police investigators have in the folder, they put together on the killing of Trayvon Martin few know about.

The file now sits in the hands of the state attorney. Now that file is just weeks away from being opened to a grand jury.

It shows more now about why police believed that night that George Zimmerman shouldn't have gone to jail.

Source

It's that those who should and likely are well aware of this, are still out inciting the public by suggesting it isn't happening. I'm feeling much better about this in a real sense, now that I know he is going to be put before a Grand Jury. Let them sort this mess out...and indict or not indict.

If only they'd stop the rhetoric long enough to make sure everyone hears the ^^ above about a Grand Jury in the near future, maybe things could settle down before someone else gets hurt out there.

S/F

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I believe the "new witness" who isn't a new witness at all (vid below shows the same interview but it was on a local news cast that took place the day after Trayvon Martin's shooting), is the same witness that ABC's report claims an officer, at the scene of the shooting, misled and has later said that he saw Zimmerman on top of Martin, not the other way around.

reply to post by Charmed707

'Racial profiling' is certainly not 'irrational'. Black males are more likely than males of other races to commit crime.

IMO racial profiling is irrational. According to whom are black males more likely to commit crime, Stormfront?

reply to post by Kali74
Indeed...and I tend to agree with people who call this manslaughter at best...murder at worst. I certainly see no defense. It's the fact it seems a Grand Jury is already in the works for where this will be presented that is worth mentioning. A Grand Jury will be drawn from the community. THAT community.

If there isn't a TON we don't know..and how can there be with that 911 call? He's Toast.

We just need a little patience for this to get before normal people at the Grand Jury so they can light the fires and get this roast started.

reply to post by Kali74


...then surely you think it's also irrational to fear or be suspicious of men more than women...? Crime stats come from the FBI. It sounds as though you don't have a lot of experience around people of various races.

It seems to me there are a lot of people of ATS who are quick to condemn Zimmerman, and push along false facts to make it look like he is definitely guilty of a racial hate crime. Yet when you look at the facts, it's an iffy situation at best. The media is going out of there way to make Trayvon look like an innocent young boy, using VERY old photos of him, and doing everything they can to make Zimmerman look like a white, gun-toting, racist. Yet when you read the facts that are out there, you can quickly see that they are just not accurate descriptions of either of these people. Yet ATS, of all people, seem to just be jumping on the media bandwagon with this one.

reply to post by Charmed707


Actually, I live in Boston and grew up in largely diverse middle to low income neighborhoods. I've been assaulted by men but when I'm out alone at night, I'm more afraid of skunks and coyotes than anything else.

Crime stats come from the FBI.

So more black males are arrested and convicted than non-black males? I knew that already. But do they actually commit more crimes? I doubt it.

reply to post by shuler73544


I think if you take a better look at the threads on this page, you will see that very few even question Zimmerman's innocence, in fact I think he's becoming a hero here.

Do you think I'm pushing false facts?

reply to post by Kali74


People with your attitude only encourage excuse-making by those who engage in criminal activity. You also discourage any improvement that these individuals could make. Blacks are arrested and convicted more than other races because they commit more crime. There was a huge survey conducted asking Americans what crimes they were victims of and what was the profile of their attacker or perpetrator. It was found that there is no racial bias in arrests and convictions.

reply to post by shuler73544

In all fairness, I don't know or care how much race may have played into this. I'm a CCW permit holder in Missouri and our state modeled our law after Florida's in many ways. Particularly in some more recent changes that gave us more rights and immunity in deadly force for self defense. In THAT light, this is very simple in my mind and by the laws we had hammered into us for the CCW classes. It boils down to this....

Was he shooting in response to an immediate threat to his life and in which he did nothing to bring about the situation that caused it to happen?

It sounds quite possibly yes on #1...and a huge red flag on #2. The moment we hear him on the 911 tape saying he is, in fact, following/pursuing it's not defense anymore. It's wanna-be cop.

By the same logic that says a criminal robbing a 7-11 is guilty of all that follows during the comission of the crime, regrardless of what the robber meant when he walked in...THIS guy is just flat out cooked to my understanding of the laws. His own voice pretty well seals the deal for timing, nature of the situation and opportunity to descalate and walk away. He failed on all counts and a kid is now dead for it. That is criminal.....literally.

reply to post by Charmed707


With my attitude huh? You mean non-racist? Am I a traitor to my race now? Do you have a problem with the sourced information I have presented or does it just leave a bad taste in your mouth that a white woman is just not okay with a young black kid's slaying? I've given sources for my information, something the threads more to your taste have not.