Who is Florida neighborhood crime watch volunteer George Zimmerman? Another neighbor, 55-year-old Frank Taaffe, defended Zimmerman as "not a racist." Taaffe, a marketing specialist who had been a watch captain with Zimmerman until December, said he may have been "overzealous, maybe," but "his main concern is the safety and welfare of the community."
He said Zimmerman had been doing watch patrols for about a year and was a stand-up guy who was diligent but did not have a fanatical demeanor. Records show Zimmerman is not the owner of the town home where he lives in the gated Sanford community.
Zimmerman expressed an interest in law enforcement when he applied to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office citizens’ law-enforcement academy in 2008, and has demonstrated that, although he’s not a cop, he is willing to take action that resembles policing.
In 2003, records show, he pursued a 24-year-old Lake Mary man he had seen shoplift a 24-inch TV from an Albertsons supermarket, following the suspect’s car until a deputy arrived. The next year, he followed a man who he claimed had spit at him while driving.
Robert Zimmerman, when speaking with the Sentinel last week, was emotional and clearly devastated. He said his family has received death threats. And on the claims that son George tracked and killed an innocent 17-year-old black teen, the elder Zimmerman was blunt: "They’re lies.