George Zimmerman, Neighborhood Watch Captain Who Shot Trayvon Martin, Charged With Violence Before

An attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin, the teenager shot to death last month by a neighborhood watch captain in an Orlando, Fla., suburb, said police withheld the shooter's violent past from the slain youth's family.

Police initially told Martin’s family that George Zimmerman, 28, admitted to shooting Martin, 17, on Feb. 26, after he called 911 and reported a suspicious person, said the attorney, Benjamin Crump. Zimmerman said the shooting was in self-defense, police said.

Zimmerman, who is white, has not been charged in the death of Martin, who was black. Police in Sanford, where the shooting occurred, told Martin’s family that Zimmerman had a “squeaky-clean” record and that’s why they had not arrested him, according to Tracy Martin, the teen’s father.

Crump said public records show that Zimmerman was arrested in Orange County in 2005 on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.

“They just lied to the family,” Crump said. “They just couldn’t see why [Zimmerman] would do anything wrong or be violent. But not only do you know the guy killed this kid, because he admitted to it, you knew that he has a propensity for violence because of his past record.”

The Orange County Clerk of Courts website shows a man named George Zimmerman, 28, was charged in July 2005 with resisting arrest with violence and battery on an officer. The charges appear to have been dropped.

An email to Sanford Chief Bill Lee was not immediately returned on Friday evening. A phone number for Zimmerman has been disconnected. He could not be reached for comment.

In an interview with HuffPost on Thursday, Tracy Martin said that when he asked police why Zimmerman hadn't been charged, officers told him "they respected [Zimmerman's] background, that he studied criminal justice for four years and that he was squeaky clean." He continued: "My question to them was, did they run my child's background check? They said yes. I asked them what they came up with, and they said nothing. So I asked if Zimmerman had a clean record, did that give him the right to shoot and kill an unarmed kid?"

Crump has asked law enforcement officials to turn over the 911 tapes recorded the night Martin was killed. He has since filed a public records lawsuit to get the recordings.

The teenager was on his way back from a convenience store during halftime of the NBA All-Star game when Zimmerman began following him in his car, police said.

Chief Lee on Thursday said that Zimmerman called 911 and reported a suspicious person. “For some reason he felt that Trayvon, the way that he was walking or appeared, seemed suspicious to him,” Lee told HuffPost. “He called this in and at one part of this initial call [the dispatcher] recommends him not to follow Trayvon. A police officer is on the way at that point.”

Lee said Zimmerman instead followed Martin. A confrontation ensued, and soon after he shot the teen, the chief said.

Comments

[JCF4612]

12:35 AM on 04/11/2013

Zimbutt will be on his way to prison before his 30th birthday. Evidence against him just keep piling up ... even higher than the pile of bull his supporters have tried to manufacture. The Sanford Police Department also will get a housecleaning from the new chief.

[Linda Iverson Moser]

12:34 PM on 04/10/2013

The defense attorney has to file a public records lawsuit to have the 911 tapes from that night released? Is it standard to refuse to release them? What's on them that is so 'hot' the prosecution has to strong-arm them out of hiding?

[HotheadPaisen]

10:16 AM on 04/10/2013

Evolution of a Lie

2/26/12
GZ: ":...'What the { } your problem, homie? AND I GOT MY CELL PHONE OUT to call 911 .."
~~~~~
DS: where is your cell phone? Did it, had you already had it back in your pocket?
GZ: No, I HAD IT IN MY HAND. "
{{{OPPS!! changesubject}}}}
GZ: When he, I put it, they said would you like the police officer to meet you & I said yes. My car’s…there…"

Singleton: But you’re not sure if you actually got it out of your pocket or not?
Zimmerman: No, I don’t recall.
~
2/27/12 12:05 AM
" “You got a problem?” and I said no. And then I went to reach for my phone to find my phone to call 911"
~
2/27 re-enactment
I said I don't have a problem & I went to go grab my cell phone but my.... I left it in a different pocket. I went...I looked down at my pant pocket..."
~~~~~~~~~
2/27 6:49 VSA
"I saw him & I went to go for my phone.. But... I..guess...I guess I didn't have my phone in the pocket I thought I had it in. I had it in my jacket pocket. And I reached for my pocket I was looking for my phone..."

[Biggredd]

10:00 AM on 04/10/2013

Charged with Violence before, was he found guilty of that charge, NO, is this relevant NO, is this news NO!

[ReeseRileyCSP]

04:11 PM on 04/10/2013

Its not new but it is very relevant. Far more relevant than Trayvon's very low THC levels.

[darkskiesrbest]

01:33 AM on 04/10/2013

Totally BOGUS. What happened the night George was arrested was this. He and some buddies went to a bar. The undercover Alcohol agents had a "Sting" operation in place. George and his buddies saw an underage friend being hustled out of the bar and decided to go outside and see what was going on. The agents were undercover so he had no idea they were law enforcement. He saw the guy pinning his friend up against a wall and yelling at him. George went over and placed his hand on the undercover agent's shoulder, perhaps a push to get him off his friend, then George was grabbed by other agents and slammed to the hood of a car and cuffed.

Wow, such violence! Gimme a break!

[Ejarra]

08:00 AM on 04/10/2013

Not only that, he was never convicted, but instead had to take anger management courses. Even Lester knew it was but a smokescreen and meant nothing. His wife was the prosecuting attorney at the time.

[HotheadPaisen]

10:25 AM on 04/10/2013

Did you just make that up?
GZ himself said he was in the bathroom and said he didn't see what happened.
GZ himself said, "And, um, the cop that I, when I grabbed him, I pushed him into a wall. There was like a column and I pushed him into a wall. And I guess he got hurt."
GZ never said he was slammed into the hood of a car.

[LeonKr4]

04:36 AM on 03/17/2013

Hey Huffington Post, why so biased? You not only post pictures of Trayvon from when he was a kid or a baby (I guess because you want to make him look innocent) but then you insist on referring to George Zimmerman as white when he is not, he is Hispanic. You seem to have an agenda not only against Zimmerman, but against white people in general. Why is that?

I don't actually expect this comment to be approved because obviously you wouldn't post a comment which criticizes the way you do things but I thought it was worth a shot.

[dkt5331]

11:47 PM on 04/09/2013

Zimmerman is half white. Are you trying to disown him from the white race? Trayvon had a clean record. Zimmerman did not. Trayvon was 3 weeks into being 17 years old before Zimmerman needlessly took his life. That's not enough time to make a photo album as a 17 year old. Would you like to see the latest picture of him laid out at the morgue?

[whynotanswertous]

01:20 PM on 04/10/2013

Trayvon did not have a clean record. The little angel was suspended from school and that was why he was at his father's house.

[Linda Iverson Moser]

12:07 PM on 04/10/2013

Hey LeonKr4 why are YOU so biased? What difference does it make what picture they post of Trayvon? Zimmer-fans all seem obsessed about this. Why?

[LeonKr4]

10:01 PM on 04/13/2013

First of all I'm greatly surprised my comment was posted and I forgot about it until now. I will give Huffington Post a slight amount of credit for not censoring people but it is still obvious to me that they are biased towards Trayvon.

@ Linda, the reason it makes a difference is because they are trying to portray him as this sweet innocent little thing who would never hurt a fly. If it doesn't make a difference as you say then the mainstream media should have no problem using more recent photos of him. You know, like the ones on his facebook. :) Nah but we can't have that, can we Linda? They won't use anything that could possibly make him look bad.

And yeah I'm biased towards Zimmerman because the evidence points to him defending himself and I think he's going to be railroaded just to please the masses.

[rheroo]

07:43 AM on 02/21/2013

None of you people are lawyers and none of you were there. Let the good Lord work this one out. Leave it in his hands, the truth will reveal.

[Linda Iverson Moser]

12:07 PM on 04/10/2013

If 'the good Lord' was the judge jury and executioner in this, a lot of people would breathe easier.

[ghettoforever]

12:59 PM on 12/26/2012

This is OLD news and Zimmerman is NOT WHITE.

[freeman8]

01:45 PM on 05/19/2012

Not the same Zimmerman. Records of 2005 indicate he was 28 at that time.

[sirianorion]

04:17 PM on 05/24/2012

they are not saying he was 28, at the time of that case, every time they refer to either martin or zimmerman there current age is add on next to there name. if you look this is what you will find.
Search By: Party Exact Name: on Party Search Mode: Name Last Name: Zimmerman First Note the D.O.B that should clear it up for you.
Name: George Case Status: Closed Date Filed On or After: 01/01/2005 Date Filed On or Before: 01/01/2006 Sort By: Filed Date
Case Number Citation Number Style/Defendant Info Filed/Location/Judicial Officer Type/Status Charge(s)

2005-CF-009525-A-O
ZIMMERMAN, GEORGE MICHAEL
10/05/1983

[Dwayne Dennis]

03:04 PM on 04/15/2012

"Zimmerman was arrested in Orange County in 2005 on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.", both charges are FELONY'S, how did this man get a gun in the first place?

[DudeManGuy]

11:25 AM on 04/10/2013

Just lucky..lol

[Evans joseph]

09:54 PM on 04/13/2012

this reminds way back when i was around seventeen .I was walking on the sidewalk on my way to buy some weider products to a nearby drugstore because I was a young inpiring bodybuilder.
I saw a police car passing by.and 15 minutes later while i was inside the jean-coutue pharmacie two policeman walk up to me and and forced me to show my left hand ,at first i did not want to and finally I show them and ask why .
it appears they followed me because "according to them" i looked like that guy who just escaped from prison and he had a scare in his left hand.
I thought it was bogus because it was'nt the first time I was stop by some policeman .
anyways some of them "so called agent" are out to get young black men out there and sadly some of them do .
Trayvon reminds me of what could have happened to me if they did.
if you are a black men you should always reports these things before its too late.

[gameused4u]

05:06 PM on 04/13/2012

I'm starting to think that Zimmerman is telling a part-truth. I think Trayvon did follow him back, jumped Zimmerman like the witness said with Trayvon on top and Zimmerman on the ground. But where the story changes, is I believe that was Trayvon screaming before he was shot. Heck, I'd scream too if I was hitting a guy on the ground and suddenly, out of nowhere, a gun was pulled.
But that's only one scenario. None of us know what happened. We speculate according to our inner prejudices. Vast majority of blacks will refuse to believe anything bad about Trayvon, even if he's guilty of jumping and pounding the guy. Many whites will refuse to believe that Trayvon is not guilty and will give Zimmerman the benefit of the doubt even though he might be dead wrong.
Just the way things work out. People need to cool down and let justice play out.

[lamashtar]

02:04 AM on 04/14/2012

Zimmerman isn't white.

It makes no sense for Zimmerman to have jumped the kid, rolled around with him, and then pull out a gun and shoot him.

If Zimmerman were that wired, he'd have pulled the gun and had it in hand while going after Martin. He'd have shot Martin on sight, at a distance. He could STILL have made his case for 'Standing Your Ground.'

Zimmerman's story matches the facts. He was following Martin to see where he was going, because, in this gated community, Martin was a stranger to him, and Zimmerman believed Martin was going to break in somewhere. He did not intend a confrontation, otherwise he'd have drawn his weapon. He just wanted to witness a crime.

Martin could have easily simply said, "I live here!" Zimmerman could have gone with him to the house he was living at and confirmed the story. No confrontation, and not a big deal in a neighborhood watch area, especially a private community.

Those are the only things we can be reasonably sure of. Witness' testimony is notoriously untrustworthy, so neither eyewitness nor the girlfriend's hearsay is worth much.

[sirianorion]

05:22 PM on 05/24/2012

there are little problems is your zimmerman's story matches facts case, 1, on tape zimmerman told 911 operator he see someone acting suspicious, GOT OUT OF HIS CAR to follow, 2, when ask by operator if he was following the person he said yes, the operator told him to stop and go back but he didn't. stand your ground law so far who does it favor. now let's look at the other person view point a strange man is chasing him, and because in this gated community we all know that everyone has to get the ok, from zimmerman to have someone stay at there home and must supply a photo of the person staying there right? plus you know for a fact what was in zimmerman's head because you talk to him before hand and he told you that "I have a gun but I'm only following him to see which house of car he is trying to break into, I do not want to confront him" am I right so far? and we all also know that carrying a gun does not give us a sense of security, stand your ground who does it favor so far. I'm sure that if you where staying at someone house in a strange neighborhood and a stranger was chasing you, you would have thought "WOW! this guy must really want to be friends.

[lamashtar]

02:21 PM on 05/26/2012

How come I got a notification for a reply, but no reply shows up?

[OpinesRmine]

05:00 AM on 05/19/2012

Whether a person is black or white, ( I happen to be white caucasian) or if one has any life's experience outside of a narrow minded vacuum for a brain, the circumstances speak loud and clear... Trayvon was shot and killed in the center court area where children played, which is less than a 100 feet from the condo where he was staying with his father... That means that Zimmerman got out of his truck, (after her was told to stay in his truck and meet officers at the front gate) He then followed Trayvon on foot to where the altercation occurred... Also, Trayvon was talking on his cell phone to his girlfriend up to the time his cell phone was cut off in mid conversation... She tried calling him back and there was no answer... The lady who lives in the condo where Trayvon was shot heard him crying for help. She states emphatically it was a boy's voice. Taped voice analyzation proved it was not Zimmerman's voice... Those are the facts... It is only Zimmerman's word (as an alibi) that Trayvon came after him... Which, is doubtful since the girlfriend has said Trayvon was worried, or afraid because some guy was following him... Point in fact, Zimmerman is guilty of manslaughter... For crying out loud am I the only white person on this board who isn't blinded by racial predjudice?? The bunch of you make me sick!

[gameused4u]

04:54 PM on 04/13/2012

Anyone can be charged. Evidently it was bogus, because the charges were "dropped," folks. Some of you, after lynching the gentle Frankenstein monster, have come out of retirement to do your thing. Let the system work itself out. You were supposedly "offended" when you found out about Trayvons pot smoking and drug addled past being sensationalized. Guess what? You've done the same! Hypocrites, all!

[Anne1983]

03:42 AM on 03/28/2012

Neighborhood watch + guns is a bad combination. If crime is high in your neighborhood... there should be a better system put in place so that untrained enthusiasts do not go out aggressively following and threatening potential suspects. There is a place for security cameras, home security systems and maybe trained security guards. This was a gated community after all. Discharging a firearm on the street when you have initiated a conflict and then claiming self defense is not acceptable.

[liebs94]

11:40 PM on 03/26/2012

"Crump said public records show that Zimmerman was arrested in Orange County in 2005 on charges of resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer."

I wonder if it's too late for Zimmerman to tell the truth and let Orange County know that the law enforcement officer attacked him first in 2005.

[Muzzle Me]

01:18 AM on 03/27/2012

Zimmerman's father is a judge. 'Nuf said about your weaker defense for Zimmerman.

[StephenJK]

06:07 AM on 04/10/2012

"Zimmerman's father is a judge"

That is an outright factoid. He was not a judge and he wasn't even in Florida when he held his position. He held his position in Virginia.