Today CNN backed off from reports that an "enhanced" recording of Zimmerman's 911 call revealed him using a racial slur. New analysis of the tape reveals that Zimmerman said "f***ing cold", not f***ing coon", as has been widely reported.
Earlier this week NBC apologized for an "error" after a 911 call from the shooter, George Zimmerman, leader of the neighborhood block watch, was edited in order to make it appear that Zimmerman racially profiled Martin. Here is NBC's edited version...
Zimmerman: “This guy looks like he’s up to no good.... He looks black,”
And the unedited version...
Zimmerman: "This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about,”
Dispatcher: “OK, and this guy – is he black, white, or Hispanic?”
Zimmerman: “He looks black.”
Photos of Martin and Zimmerman were both badly out of date, depicting Martin as a baby-faced tweener, and a Zimmerman as a frowning pudgy man.
It would be weeks before more recent photos like the ones below surfaced. Like the 911 tape edit, the national media's choice of photographs seems calculated to support its preconceived analysis of the case.
It was reported that Zimmerman had called the police 46 times since January 1 of 2011. Somebody did not fact check, a recurring theme in the reporting on this case. Although Zimmerman did call the police 46 times, logs released by the police show that the calls were made over a period of more than 7 years, not 14 months. Only 5 of those calls reference black males.
The Fox News affiliate in Orlando, on the day following the shooting, interviewed an eyewitness to the struggle between Zimmerman and Martin prior to the shot being fired. The witness claims to have seen Martin on top of Zimmerman, with Zimmerman crying for help, directly corroborating Zimmerman's story. For 25 days, while the lynch mob was whipping up a public frenzy, WOFL (rhymes with "waffle") did not report on the interview. When they finally did air a story, they disingenuously attributed it to "someone we have not heard from before".
The media have repeatedly reported that Zimmerman outweighed Martin by 100 lbs. or more. Police estimated Martin's weight at 160 lbs. He stood between 6'1" and 6'3" tall. Zimmerman is 5"7"-5"9' tall and currently weighs 170-190 lbs.
It is being reported as fact that Zimmerman continued to follow Martin after being told not to by the police dispatcher. This is the crux of this story. If Zimmerman continues to follow Martin after being told not to by the police dispatcher, then many, including myself, believe that Zimmerman forfeits any protection under the "stand your ground" law. If, as Zimmerman claims, he returned to his vehicle and was sucker-punched by Martin then he had every right to defend himself.
It is clear from the 911 tapes that an out of breath Zimmerman was chasing Martin when told by the dispatcher that he should stop. Zimmerman says "OK", and makes arrangements to meet the police. The call goes on for almost 2 minutes after Zimmerman says he stopped following Martin. No footsteps or wind noise can be heard as Zimmerman tells the police how to find him. There is no indication that Zimmerman continued his pursuit of Martin after being told not to.
Zimmerman's story must be viewed with skepticism. There is nobody left alive to refute it. And it doesn't pass the smell test. Where are Zimmerman's bloody clothes? Where is the documentation of Zimmerman's injuries? Why wasn't Zimmerman tested for alcohol and drugs? What happened between the time Zimmerman says "OK" to the dispatcher's instructions to stop following Martin and the moment of the fatal gunshot?
But the story the lynch mob is telling is so full of outrageous lies and distortions, it makes Zimmerman's account look better by comparison every day. Zimmerman's past brushes with the law and his numerous 911 calls to police are considered fair game, as is speculation that his father, among others, conspired to keep him from being charged with a crime. Any digging into Martin's past is met with claims of smearing Martin's reputation, blaming the victim, lack of relevance, and, of course, racism. I guess it's not relevant that Martin was in Zimmerman's neighborhood that day because he was serving a 10 day suspension from school for an undisclosed third violation of school policy, and to ask why he was suspended for that length of time proves that you are a racist.
The race card has been played in this early and often. A selection of quotes...
"Your entire police department is nothing more than a collection of incompetent, bigoted, unprofessional a**holes." --Tracey Martin, Trayvon's father
"He was executed for 'WWB' in a 'GC.' Walking While Black in a Gated Community."--Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson
"This investigation is laced with racial profiling, lies and murder. Trayvon was hunted, chased, tackled and shot. -- Florida Rep. Fredrica Wilson
"This case demonstrates profound racial inequality, not only juvenile -- it also demonstrates the racial profiling in this country,"--Jesse Jackson
What is so mind-boggling about the incident is that so many people have reached unshakable conclusions about exactly what happened that night when almost none of the facts are known. There is almost no credible evidence in the public record that sheds light on what really happened. We have several 911 calls, one of which was deliberately edited to support the notion that Zimmerman racially profiled Martin. Another has been trotted out, like a Rorschach test for racism, in which seemingly everyone hears what they expect to hear. A third recording, which chillingly captures someone's screams, which are stifled after a single gunshot, has been offered as evidence that Martin, not Zimmerman was screaming prior to the fatal shot. This despite the fact that Zimmerman's voice scored a 48% match, and Martin's voice was not checked against the 911 tape. We have seen the initial police report, which indicates that Zimmerman had grass stains on his back and was bleeding from his nose and head. And, of course, the surveillance footage from the police station taken approximately 25 minutes after the shooting occurred, which, on the surface at least, do not seem to show the injuries Zimmerman claims to have sustained.
That's it. Some 911 calls, a redacted police report and a few minutes of surveillance video. That's all we know about the Trayvon Martin shooting, everything else is just what we've heard, and everyone doing the talking seems to have an axe to grind.
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