[HTML1]
orlandosentinel.com has a new, more detailed report of George Zimmerman’s account of what happened on the night he shot Trayvon Martin. As you’d expect, Zimmerman maintains that Martin attacked without provocation. “Zimmerman told [the police] he lost sight of Trayvon and was walking back to his SUV when Trayvon approached him from the left rear, and they exchanged words. Trayvon asked Zimmerman if he had a problem. Zimmerman said no and reached for his cell phone, he told police. Trayvon then said, ‘Well, you do now’ or something similar and punched Zimmerman in the nose . . . Zimmerman fell to the ground and Trayvon got on top of him and began slamming his head into the sidewalk, he told police. Zimmerman began yelling for help . . .
Several witnesses heard those cries, and there has been a dispute about whether they came from Zimmerman or Trayvon.
Lawyers for Trayvon’s family say it was Trayvon, but police say their evidence indicates it was Zimmerman.
One witness, who has since talked to local television news reporters, told police he saw Zimmerman on the ground with Trayvon on top, pounding him — and was unequivocal that it was Zimmerman who was crying for help.
Zimmerman then shot Trayvon once in the chest at very close range, according to authorities.
We’ve also learned why Trayvor Martin was suspended from school for five days, and it isn’t “tardiness” as reported earlier. According to the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade Schools Police reported finding a bag with marijuana residue and a ‘marijuana pipe’ in the 17-year-old’s possession.
This was not Martin’s first run-in with the school heat.
In October, a school police investigator said he saw Trayvon on the school surveillance camera in an unauthorized area “hiding and being suspicious.” Then he said he saw Trayvon mark up a door with “W.T.F” — an acronym for “what the f—.” The officer said he found Trayvon the next day and went through his book bag in search of the graffiti marker.
Instead the officer reported he found women’s jewelry and a screwdriver that he described as a “burglary tool,” according to a Miami-Dade Schools Police report obtained by The Miami Herald . . .
Trayvon’s backpack contained 12 pieces of jewelry, in addition to a watch and a large flathead screwdriver, according to the report, which described silver wedding bands and earrings with diamonds.
Trayvon was asked if the jewelry belonged to his family or a girlfriend.
“Martin replied it’s not mine. A friend gave it to me,” he responded, according to the report. Trayvon declined to name the friend.
According to the paper, the school sent info on the jewelry to the police. (There’s no intel on whether or not the police connected the jewelry to a reported burglary.) The schol suspended Martin for the graffiti.
The Sentinel reports that Martin’s family has expressed their unhappiness with news reports detailing Trayvor’s school record—in no uncertain terms.
Trayvon’s father, Tracy Martin, said “even in death, they are still disrespecting my son, and I feel that that’s a sin.”
His mother, Sybrina Fulton, said, “They killed my son, and now they’re trying to kill his reputation.”
With all due respect, “they” didn’t kill Martin. George Zimmerman did. And the police believed he did so in self-defense.