ABC News Backtracking on the Zimmerman witch hunt.


SANFORD, Fla. — New analysis of calls to police made by George
Zimmerman, who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, show a man
who never offered up race as a descriptor of suspicious people in the
neighborhood watch area until being prompted by a dispatcher. On the
calls he made to Sanford, Fla., police he seems reluctant to take
initiative in pursuing one suspicious man.
Since August 2011, Zimmerman has called in to a non-emergency police
line seven times, according to documents released by the Sanford Police
Department. Of those calls, five were made to report a “suspicious
person.” In the audio released by Seminole County Sheriff’s Department,
he describes the suspicious characters as black or African-American,
though never mentioning race until after he was asked to describe the
characters. These five calls all began similarly, with Zimmerman saying
that he was calling as a result of past break-ins or robberies.
Zimmerman appears to be quite business-like in the calls, offering
detailed descriptions of what he was seeing in a matter-of-fact manner.
On one call he relates details of kids playing in the street, darting by
passing cars.
In another call he described two “suspicious” men that he said were
loitering, adding that he had “never seen them before.” Another
described a black male wearing a black leather jacket and hat with ear
flaps. Zimmerman said that he had seen the man picking up trash and
“didn’t know what his deal was.” In this call, Zimmerman adds that, “I
don’t want to approach him personally.”
These added details may help Zimmerman as he and his lawyers fight to
defend his innocence both in the court of public opinion and any
potential trial. The case is under investigation by Florida Fourth
Judicial Circuit State Attorney Angela Corey’s Office. The Department of
Justice has issued its own probe, investigating possible civil rights
violations.
As protests continue, portraying the shooting as racially motivated
and calling for Zimmerman’s immediate arrest, his family and lawyers
maintain that he is not a racist. Appearing on Fox’s “Sean Hannity
Show,” Zimmerman’s father, Robert Zimmerman, said that his son had never
used any racial slurs, even recounting a time when the younger
Zimmerman campaigned on behalf of a homeless black man after a white son
of a police officer punched him.
But for the family of the slain teenager, they say that the only
thing that can begin to alleviate their pain is an arrest. They allege
that Zimmerman, his family, police, and local government were all
involved in a cover-up to sweep Martin’s death under the rug.
In a letter sent to the Department of Justice earlier this week, the
family called for a probe into an alleged meeting with former Police
Chief Billy Lee and State Attorney Norm Wolfinger, whose office was
previously in charge of the case before Wolfinger recused himself.
The letter refers to a report first reported by ABC News that the
lead investigator on the case recommended that Zimmerman be charged with
manslaughter, a recommendation that Wolfinger’s office did not take.
Wolfinger responded to the family’s allegations in this statement
released earlier this week: “I am outraged by the outright lies
contained in the letter by Benjamin Crump to Deputy Assistant Attorney
General Roy Austin dated April 2, 2012. I encourage the Justice
Department to investigate and document that no such meeting or
communication occurred. I have been encouraging those spreading the
irresponsible rhetoric to stop and allow State Attorney Angela Corey to
complete her work. Another falsehood distributed to the media does
nothing to forward that process. ”
State Attorney Corey’s office has promised a thorough investigation
into the shooting, which occurred on February 26, 2012. A grand jury
could hear the case on April 10. Corey has said that there is no
guarantee that the case will even go before a grand jury and sources
within her office tell ABC News that an arrest, if it does occur, will
not occur before next week.


FROM: "Trayvon Martin Shooter Zimmerman’s Audio Tapes Show Calm"

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/04/trayvon-martin-shooter-zimmermans-911-audio-tapes/