Sanford, Fla. – A recent video released by his defense team through its website, shows defendant George Zimmerman re-enacting for police his version of what happened the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.
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Seen in the gated community where the tragedy unfolded, the 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer gives a blow-by-blow of what he said transpired before, during and after he fatally shot the 17-year-old Martin with a single hollow point bullet through the heart.
He said the teenager looked and felt suspicious, and that he was looking a house he saw a “black man looking at a few weeks ago.”
Zimmerman claims not to have seen where Martin came from but suddenly he was near him. He said after he told Martin, “I don’t have a problem with you,” and looked down to get his cellphone from one of his pockets, the teen said, “you have a problem now,” then punched him.
According to the neighborhood watchman, he then fell to the ground, at which point Martin supposedly jumped on him and started banging his head into the paved sidewalk.
Zimmerman said he thought he would pass out and wiggled his body to move away from the hard surface. It was then his shirt rolled up, he said, exposing his gun. He told the investigator that Martin tried grabbing the gun. Zimmerman said prior to that, he was screaming for help even though Martin told him “to shut the f**k up” while also trying to suffocate him by covering his mouth and nose.
How Martin covered Zimmerman’s nose and mouth, banged his head savagely, while reaching for the gun simultaneously is certainly an impressive feat. How did he do all that and a big guy like Zimmerman, who was also armed, just laid there?
Zimmerman said it was when Martin reached for the gun and said, “I’m going to kill you” that he grabbed the gun and shot him in the chest. He said Martin’s last words were, “You got me,” after he sat up.
He then straddled the chest of the teen whom he just shot and said he held down his arms. Why did he get on top of someone he had just shot and why hold down his arms when he was clearly in the postion of power now? Moreover, he said Martin was lying face down in the grass and he sat on his back because he didn’t know he had shot him.
This scenario seemed contradictory. If Martin was sitting on Zimmerman’s stomach, banging his head on the sidewalk, how did he end up face down in the grass? How did he “sit up” if Zimmerman shot him in the chest while he was straddling Zimmerman?
Zimmerman claimed it was at that time a neighbor came on the scene and asked him if he was alright. Again, why would the neighbor ask him if he was alright when he was the one holding a gun and Martin was laying still, face down on the ground and he was on top of the teen?
According to Zimmerman, the neighbor called police after he had told him not to call the police but “help me restrain this guy” instead.
See the video above for entire demonstration.
Meanwhile Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee was reportedly fired by Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte on Wednesday.
Bonaparte said the chief had lost the trust of city officials after his handling of Zimmerman’s fatal shooting of Martin on Feb. 26. He was not arrested and charged until April 11 after widespread protests and marches through Sanford and other cities across the country.
Lee did step down temporarily and had offered to resign before this firing, but his resignation was rejected at the time.
The state prosecutor at the time, Norm Wolfinger, was also criticized for his handling of the case. He too had recused himself and replaced by Angela Corey. Wolfinger was the one who reportedly ordered the Sanford police to release Zimmerman under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
The volunteer nightwatcman is now charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Martin and has pleaded not guilty. Back in a Seminole County jail after bail was revoked for lying about hidden money, he will face a judge on June 29 to ask to be released on bond a second time. His wife Shellie was also charged with perjury for lying about same hidden PayPal funds collected online from supporters.
