George Zimmerman's Re-enactment: My Opinion

This post was originally published on June 21, 2012.  Since the trial is underway, I thought I would republish my thoughts. They have not changed. I do not believe George Zimmerman is being honest with us.

Video 1

Video 2

George Zimmerman's reenacted what happened the night Trayvon Martin was killed for police and it has finally been released to the public. I have reviewed it and will share my thoughts on the second video below.

George Zimmerman:

I was still on the phone with a non-emergency and I started walking .....down this way….and .....because I didn’t see a street sign here, but I knew if I could go straight through that that is Retreat View Circle, and I could give him an address because he said just give me the address of the house in you are in front of and there are no addresses because these are the back of the houses (When Zimmerman says this, right next to him are the front of units—and he flat ignored that).  So I walk straight through here, and……I didn’t see him ....at all. I was walking .....and I was still on the phone with EM… ah, non-emergency. 

If Zimmerman was looking to get an address, I would have expected him to get the address at the end of the path on Retreat View Circle, but if you notice he never did--even though he walked all the way there.  That speaks volumes.  It is my belief that Zimmerman was still looking for Martin--still in hot pursuit but says that he was looking for an address to cover his true intent.  His words "didn't see him...at all" stand out to me.

I got to.... about …..(walking) .....here, and I got to about here, and I had a flashlight with me.  The flashlight was dead, though.  And I looked around and I didn’t see anybody, and I told non-emergency, I said  “You know what?  He’s gone. 

Again these words show Zimmerman's intent was to seek out and find Martin, without question.  It wasn't to get an address.  Zimmerman was clearly asked not to follow Martin, but there is no doubt he was still in pursuit.

 He’s not even here…so ............I still though I could use their address, so I walked all the way through. 

Notice the long pause when he said, "he's not even here....so....."  Notice the address is an afterthought? Very telling. 

 And.......... I actually walked all the way to the street and I was going to give them this address and they said, “Well if he’s not there, do you still want a police officer?”  And I said yes and…….....and they said, “Do you still want a police officer” and I said yes and they said, “Are you following ...?”   

Notice how Zimmerman says he "actually" walked all the way to the street. Yes, he did--in pursuit of Martin--not for an address.The fact that Zimmerman has to repeat his story is a red flag for me. He does it several times (below too). People often do this to remember--to get more time when they change facts. If his goal was to get the address as he says, he would have stuck to that--especially when he asked the police to come in spite of knowing where Martin was.  

Oh, um… I’m sorry, back there, they said are you following him, and I said yes because I was, you know, in the area.  And they said we don’t need you to do that, and I said okay so I ....that’s when I walked straight through here so I could get the address so I could meet the police officer.  And then they said, uhhh…I said he’s not here, they said do you still want them to come,  and I said yes, and they said where do you want him to come to, and I said you know just tell him to meet me at my truck, next to the clubhouse, you go straight into the clubhouse and makes a left, I have a Honda Ridgeline, a silver Honda Ridgeline parked right there. I’ll meet him right there.  So I started walking back.

Why wouldn't he tell the police to meet him the first time at the clubhouse like he did this time? Clearly when asked, this is what he naturally thought.  What he tells us in this interview is nonsense, but he doesn't want to admit to being in pursuit--that would make him look bad. When Zimmerman says, "I started walking back" he says it as a question.  The tone of his voice goes up instead of down.  This is notable for me, and can be another clue to deception that something else may have happened here.

(Zimmerman sighs)

When I got to……. I pass here, I looked, I didn’t see anything again and I was walking back to my truck and then when I got to right about here, he yelled..... from behind me….from behind me…to the side of me. He said, ‘Yo, you got a problem?”  And I turned around, and I said, “No, I don’t have a problem, man.”   

(talk with officer)

He was about there, but he was walking towards me. (So he was coming from this direction here).  Yes, sir.  I believe I was already passed that so I didn’t see exactly where he came from, but he was about where you were.  And I said no I don’t have a problem and I went to go grab my cell phone, but my…I left it in a different pocket and I went...I looked down at my pant pocket and he said, “You got a problem now” and he was here and he punched me in the face.  (Right here?)  Right up around here (grassy area). To be honest, I don’t remember exactly...um... I think I stumbled and I... fell down, or he pushed me down and somehow he got on top of me. 

We have several false starts (sentence changes direction due to cognition--which is indicative of deception).  When Zimmerman says Martin said, "You have a problem now" I would expect some emotional inflection in Zimmerman's voice. That would have been a tense moment, but he says it as if it has no meaning.  This stands out to me.  The words "I think" jump at me here, too. He says "think" twice (below too). He should know exactly how the argument precipitated.  The words "I think" are a hedge, if you ask me.  He should absolutely know if he fell, or if he was pushed down.  He also should remember distinctly how Martin got on top of him, but he doesn't.  Interestingly, the details when it is most critical fuzz into a blur! Hmmm.....

  

(On the grass or on the cement)?  It was… ov...more…more over towards here (George walks).  I think I was trying to push him away from me and then... he... got on top of me somewhere around... here, and …….ah…....that’s when I started screaming for help.   

I started screaming for help as loud as I could and that’s when….oh…I tried to sit up and that’s when he grabbed me by the head and tried to slam my head down and (Where you on the cement or were you on the grass?)  No, my body was on the grass, my head was on the cement.   

Notice the long pause between "here, and .....ah....that's when I started screaming for help."    Why would he struggle to remember this?  It shows he is thinking as he speaks...not talking from memory, if you ask me.

Notice the change of direction of thoughts..."was...ov....more..../...and......ah.....that's?  He was screaming for help and then..."oh I tried to sit up" out of the blue.  This feels like something Zimmerman wanted to remember that perhaps isn't part of the story.  Notice the speech hesitations (ah, um, etc)?  I also find it weird Zimmerman says "tried to slam my head down".  That would indicate that Martin wasn't successful, wouldn't it?? But he goes on below to say "slamming and slamming".  Hmmm..... I question this entire story, frankly.

Um....That is as best as I could feel through my jacket was I felt like my body was on the grass and my head was on the cement, and he kept slamming and slamming, and uh… and I just kept yelling help, help, help (spoken in a very soft tone) as loud as could and …he put his hand on his nose, my nose and his other hand on my mouth 

Do you think if you are in a struggle for your life with a guy who threatens to kill you that you will notice your head is half on the cement or only a "small portion of my head [was] on the concrete"?  Do you think you would be able to register all of this as your head is getting beaten in while lying on your back?  I'm not buying it.  I also notice how Zimmerman's voice pitch drops when he says he was crying out for help. It's a red flag for me.  BUT more than that, listen to the words Zimmerman uses,  "He put his hand on his nose...my nose..."  That's a slip of the tongue. It could have meaning or it may not, but what Zimmerman does next in his "reenactment" really brings home to me that this was a serious slip of the tongue.  Zimmerman moves his hands as if he is the perpetrator when he recollects the story!!!  He is reliving this moment as if he were Martin -- or the AGGRESSOR!!!!  This is huge, strange behavior!!!  Look at him move his arms as if he was covering someone's mouth and nose. 

If you are a victim, you do NOT have the memory of the perp!!!  You have an entirely different one looking from the ground up!!! You have no idea what the other person experienced!!!! You wouldn't even think of it, and if you did, you'd flinch!  It would be hard to do.  I can't help but wonder if Zimmerman switched his memories by putting himself in Martin's shoes when he talks so he can play the victim!!  There is a lot of evidence behaviorally to support this. It gives me the chills!!

... and he said “Shut the fuck up.” (Look at Zimmerman's hands as if he again were the perp)  And um…. Then I tried squirming again because all I could think about was…when he was hitting my head against…it felt like it was going to explode. 

Notice all the changes in sentence direction?  This shows cognition, which we don't see in honesty.  Notice how he stopped himself short of saying "cement"?  Why does he have a hard time saying cement here??  Is he afraid from his injuries, people won't believe his head was slammed repeatedly against cement???  Is this wiggle room so he can say I must have had my head on the grass, and didn't know it?? 

I thought I was going to lose consciousness so I tried to squirm, so I could get…he only had a small portion of my head on the concrete so I tried to squirm off the concrete, and when I did that, somebody here opened the door and I said, “Help me, help me” and they said, “I’ll call 911.”  And I said, “No help me”.  I need help.   (change in demeanor).   

If your head is being slammed on concrete, and you are laying on your back, do you think you would hear someone open a door?  This is odd. I would expect the perpetrator to hear it, but not the victim--when he is a struggle for his life. His heart should be pounding out of his chest and he would be in flight or fight mode.  In that mode, it would be unlikely you would hear a door open.

Furthermore, notice he doesn't talk about Martin getting distracted at this point, reacting to the stranger's voice--nothing.   If Martin was on top of Zimmerman as he says, hitting him or bashing his head on concrete, Martin would have reacted to that voice, and Zimmerman would have used that time to get away!  Yet none of this happened. Hmmm....  Martin didn't react to a thing--just kept after him.  I don't buy it.

The behaviors described by Zimmerman don't make sense, unless Zimmerman was the one on top. If he was "in pursuit" of Martin as we know he was, and he felt like he was "getting a bad guy", he absolutely would have heard this man, and may have asked for help at this point and he wouldn't have gotten off Martin, would he?

Reverse it and things make much more sense.

On that note, have you watched Zimmerman's body language and behavior?  His body is relaxed the entire time he talks about this situation and struggle. We don't see any fear, stress, anxiety, sadness, remorse--nothing negative whatsoever!!! It's highly notable. Add to the fact that Zimmerman had no worries about going to the hospital, yet he tells us he was afraid he was going to lose consciousness.  Yeah, right. 

I don’t know what they did but ah…that’s when my jacket moved up and I had my firearm on my right side hip …. my jacket moved up (look at Zimmerman look down when he speaks) and he saw it, I feel like he saw it.  He looked at it, and he said, “You’re gonna die tonight MF”  and he reached for it but he reached, but I felt like his arm going down to my side and I grabbed it, and I just grabbed my firearm and shot it one time. 

Notice the details fuzz here again when it comes to the gun?  I don't buy it whatsoever.

After I shot him, he like sat up.  (After you shot him, what did he say?)  After I shot him, he like sat up….(talk) 

He like sat up?  Like shows hesitation here. It's a hedge.  It makes me question his story again. How does one "like sit up?"  They either sit up or they don't. It's like this:  I kinda went to the store."  Oh really?

Yes, sir, he was on top of me like this (straddle)…I shot him and I didn’t think I hit him because he sat up and said, “okay, you got me. You got it, you got it"…something like that.  So I thought he was just saying, “I know you have a gun now, I heard it…I’m giving up.”

If he wasn't sure he shot Martin or not, why does he say earlier "after I shot HIM" (two sentences up!!!).  Ridiculous! He knew damn well he shot Martin.  This is a load of crap!!

 

I don’t know if I pushed him off me or he fell off me.  Either way, I got on top of him, and I pushed his arms apart. (Did you flip him over?) I don’t remember how I got on top of him, but I got on his back and moved his arms apart because when he was repeatedly hitting me in the face…and the head….I thought he had something in his hands….so I just moved his hands apart. (Uh, so you had him face down then).  Yes, face down and I was on his back….

Notice the missing details again? He doesn't know what happened. Notice how he also doesn't remember flipping him over???  This would be a life and death struggle and if you are gaining the upper hand, you'd remember!! Oops. ALSO, if a guy attacked you, are you going to drop your gun if you don't believe you shot him, and grab his hands instead?  Ridiculous!! Who on earth would leave a gun laying around for a perp to grab?  Also notice now he adds he was repeatedly hit in the face--on top of the slamming. Hmmm.....

...and then somebody came with a flashlight and I thought it was a police officer, so I said, “Are you the police?” and I thou...…I still had my gun out, and I said are you the police, my guns right here, and he said no, no I’m not…I’m calling the police, and I said don’t call the police, help me restrain this guy.   

 

And he said I’m calling the police, I’m calling the police and I said I already called, they are on their way.  Their coming.  I need your help.  And uh...that’s when the police officer, uh…came around and I saw the police officer so I stood up and I holstered my weapon and he said, “Who shot him?”  And I said I did and I put my hands up and I said I did, and I don’t know if told me to or if I automatically turned my back to him and I lifted my shirt and I said my guns right there.

This last paragraph says it all.  The police officer asks who shot him.  If Zimmerman didn't think he shot Martin, would he say, "I did"?  Of course not!!!  The normal, honest response if Zimmerman's story is true is "This man attacked me, and I tried to shoot him, but I missed. He talked to me.  He beat me and nearly killed me."  But there is none of that.  Why????

No, Zimmerman acted like a man who pursued a target, attacked him, killed him and was waiting for the police to come see what a hero he was.  

Not only do I not believe Zimmerman's account AT ALL, he has already made it clear in his jailhouse recordings, he's willing to lie when it suits him.

I hope he is held accountable to what he did to Trayvon Martin.  I hope justice is served is this case and swiftly!