Ok.
first report (I've linked this before btw):
Quote:
Zimmerman had a damp shirt, grass stains, a bloody nose and was bleeding from a wound in back of his head, according to police reports.
From the same article (remember that this is what he's telling the media now):
Quote:
A neighborhood eighth-grader out walking his dog said his family also called 911.
“I saw someone lying on the ground, and I heard screaming,†said Austin, 13, whose mother asked that his last name not be published. “I don’t know that it was the person on the [ground] who was screaming, but to me it sounded like a kid who was crying. It was a yell for help, and I think it was Trayvon.â€
From
this article, a bit about Mary Cutcher:
Quote:
The time that we heard the whining and then the gunshot, we did not hear any wrestling, no punching, no fighting, nothing to make it sound like there was a fight," said Mary Cutcher, one of the callers.
But in the previously linked article, there's this:
Quote:
Lee released a statement Thursday disputing Cutcher’s account, saying it differed from what she originally told police, which she angrily denies.
Cutcher originally gave police a statement that matched Zimmerman’s account, said police spokesman Sgt. David Morgenstern.
Assuming that they have her testimony on tape or in writing, I suppose we'll eventually know who is correct. But it seems far more likely for someone to change the story slightly over time when retelling it to the media, then for police to do so (given that they're legally "stuck" with the actual original testimony).
Then, there's
this link Quote:
Another woman said a man in a 'white top' was on top of Trayvon.
According to the
police report (you all read this right?). A relevant portion:
Quote:
As I walked in between the buildings, I observed a white male, wearing a red jacket and blue jeans. I also observed a black male, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, laying face down in the grass.
I asked the subject in the red jacket, later identified as George Zimmerman (who was original caller for suspicious person complaint), if he had seen the subject. Zimmerman stated that he had shot the subject and was still armed. Zimmerman complied with all of my verbal commands and was secured in handcuffs. Located on the inside of Zimmerman's waistband, I removed a black Kel Tek 9mm PF9 semi auto handgun and holster. While I was in such close contact with Zimmerman, I could observe that his back appeared to be wet and was covered in grass, as if he had been laying on his back on the ground. Zimmerman was also bleeding from the nose and the back of the head.
Then, there's
this Mostly just repeats what other sources have said, but there's this:
Quote:
Eyewitness account of Zimmerman being pinned on the ground and beaten by Martin, and crying for help. Eyewitnesses can be unreliable, but the account 100% corroborates with the police data.
Sounds to me like Zimmerman saw the witness and called for help, when the witness ran inside and instead called the cops (who were already en-route) Zimmerman shot.
So. The only person wearing red, with wounds to his nose and the back of his head, was also reported by witnesses to have been the one on his back, while the other person was on top of him. Despite (a few) people later incorrectly identifying them by name (and assuming that Trayvon was the one on the ground), the physical evidence in front of the police that night *can't* be wrong. None of the witnesses saw either person well enough to identify them, only their clothes. That, and the physical evidence was certainly enough to prove self defense.
Now, we can speculate about how the scuffle started, but we can't even get to that point if people are unwilling to look at more information than just that being repeated the most by those on one "side" of this issue. Look at all the facts. At the very least, these two were both in a fight and Martin was not automatically losing just because he was younger. He was a 6 foot tall 17 year old football player. Zimmerman was a 5'9 sorta plump guy in his late 20s. It's at least misleading to just assume that Martin *must* have been the one with the disadvantage in a physical fight here.
Edited, Mar 22nd 2012 4:19pm by gbaji