Witness: Zimmerman 'Never ... Tried To Help' Trayvon Martin

MSNBC ^ | March 25, 2012

[Steelfish]

Witness: Zimmerman 'Never ... Tried To Help' Trayvon Martin

By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

A woman who says she and her roommate witnessed the final moments of Trayvon Martin's life told Dateline NBC that George Zimmerman had "his hands pressed on his back" and "never turned him over or tried to help him."

Zimmerman's lawyer, when shown part of the interview being aired Sunday night on Dateline, emphasized that his client would be claiming self-defense.

"I think there were efforts made to render aid to Trayvon," Craig Sonner told NBC's TODAY show.

Mary Cutcher told Dateline that she and her roommate both saw Zimmerman "straddling the body, basically a foot on both sides of Trayvon's body, and his hands pressed on his back."

Cutcher added that Zimmerman told her and her roommate to call the police. "Zimmerman never turned him over or tried to help him or CPR or anything," Cutcher said.

Sonner also reiterated what he had said in recent days, that Zimmerman suffered a broken nose and a gash to the back of his head.

A friend of Zimmerman's who appeared on TODAY with Sonner added that Zimmerman, 28, was distraught over the teen's death.

"Right after the shooting he couldn't stop crying," said Joe Oliver, who is African American and a former TV reporetr and anchor in Orlando.

Zimmerman has not been charged in the Feb. 26 shooting that has ignited racial tensions and raised questions about the Sanford police's handling of the case. Martin was black, and Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Hispanic.

In a separate interview Sunday, Oliver said that "I'm a black male and all that I know is that George has never given me any reason whatsoever to believe he has anything against people of color.''

[Alice in Wonderland]

Yes, Zimmerman has a history of acting like a wannabe cop:

Teontae Ami, who also lives in the Retreat at Twin Lakes community, said very few black teenagers like himself live in the neighborhood. Teontae, 17, said he and a close friend who is black would sit at the end of a driveway in the evening and felt uncomfortable when Zimmerman would pass them on a neighborhood patrol. They used to greet him, but he never responded, Teontae said. "I think he took his job too seriously," Teontae said, referring to Zimmerman's watch patrols. A student, Teontae said his friend was once confronted by Zimmerman, who accused him of stealing a bike. "I don't want to call it a black thing, but it sure seemed like it," said Teontae, who said the bike was never stolen.

“He would circle the block and circle it; it was weird,” said Teontae Amie, 17. “If he had spotted me, he’d probably ask me if I lived here. He was known for being really strict.” Travis Williams, a black 16-year-old who wears dreadlocks, said last year a man came to his house and accused him of stealing a bicycle. The police even came and checked the serial numbers on the bike in his garage. Zimmerman told neighbors about stolen laptops and unsavory characters. They discussed the topic with Zimmerman when the watch captain knocked on their door late last year. Zimmerman seemed friendly, helpful, and a “pretty cool dude,” Ibrahim Rashada said. “He came by here and talked about carrying guns and getting my wife more involved with guns,” he said. “He said I should have a weapon and that his wife took classes to learn how to use one. “I do have a weapon, but I don’t walk around the neighborhood with mine!” Actually, he does not walk around the neighborhood at all. “I fit the stereotype he emailed around,” he said. “Listen, you even hear me say it: ‘A black guy did this. A black guy did that.’ So I thought, ‘Let me sit in the house. I don’t want anyone chasing me.’ Police volunteer program coordinator Wendy Dorival said she met Zimmerman in September at a community neighborhood watch presentation. “I said, ‘If it’s someone you don’t recognize, call us. We’ll figure it out,’ ” Dorival said. “‘Observe from a safe location.’ There’s even a slide about not being vigilante police. I don’t know how many more times I can repeat it.

Despite the frequency of his calls to the police, Zimmerman had only become a member of the neighborhood watch in September 2011. In fact, Twin Lakes’ neighborhood watch itself did not exist before then, according to Wendy Dorival, volunteer coordinator for the Sanford Police Department. Dorival first met with Twin Lakes residents to give a neighborhood-watch presentation on the evening of Sept. 22. The meeting was initiated by a call from Zimmerman, she said. “He was the one who contacted me at first to get it started there,” Dorival said. Over the years, his scores of calls to police showed he pursued shoplifters and errant drivers with zeal, reporting pit bulls, potholes, children playing in the street, open garage doors and "suspicious" youths - usually black males - loitering in the street. He peppered his calls with jargon familiar to police. In one case, he chased a reckless driver while calling 911 - the driver later told police he was terrified that Zimmerman was going to attack him. Dr. Laurence Miller, a Palm Beach County clinical psychologist who works with local police agencies, said he believes Zimmerman likely was acting out the "whole TV cop role in his head" when he confronted Trayvon. "A lot of people like the power and control that law enforcement officers have but with that comes a tremendous amount of responsibility," Miller said, pointing out that a police officer is the only profession that can use "coercive physical force" or lethal force to subdue a suspected criminal. Whether Zimmerman ever actually applied to a police agency is unclear. But according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, he never applied to take the Basic Abilities Test needed to enter recruit training. However, in December 2008, he applied for a citizens' police academy with the Seminole Sheriff's Office. In his application, Zimmerman stressed his background with the law: He wrote that his father is a retired Virginia Supreme Court magistrate judge and his mother worked as a deputy clerk of courts. He was accepted and completed the one-night-a-week, 14-hour program. Sheriff's spokeswoman Heather Smith stressed that the program is simply an educational tool designed to engage citizens and teach them about policing. "It's not a training academy. Participants are not issued any type of sheriff's equipment or deputization," Smith said. His prior contacts with the law would have given police agencies pause.

Zimmerman, according to neighbors, stepped up to organize the community watch, patrolling the neighborhood while walking his dog, toting his Kel Tek 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, for which he held a concealed weapons permit. Nevertheless, even supportive neighbors question the wisdom of taking a gun along on patrols. That's something that Miami Maj. Delrish Moss, who oversees the department's community outreach unit, cautions against when speaking to city-organized citizen's patrols. Last week, he brought up the Zimmerman case to his volunteers, stressing it's best to leave weapons at home. Leave the police aspirations and guns at home and focus on simply observing and reporting potential crime, Moss told them."In law enforcement, you always run into people who speak to you in cop jargon, in a way that you can tell they are some kind of frustrated cop," Moss said. "For the most part, they are harmless and just love police officers, but sometimes, these conversations can be alarming."

[jwalsh07]

I don’t know about you but I don’t consider a chick rubbing my crotch an attack. LOL

Depends. If she's LOL while doing it that could be construed as an attack on one's manhood I suppose.

[dmzTahoe]

I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, rather than make a characterization, and consider known facts related to the current issue.

Agree, pops88.

But the only facts we know at this point are these:

Zimmerman saw a black youth walking along the sidewalk. He deemed him to be suspicious. He alerted 911. The dispatcher told him not to pursue. Zimmerman continued his pursuit.

After that, the story becomes muddled.

My point is everyone should take a breathe of air, slow down, await a thorough, fair investigation prior to rendering a verdict in either direction.

Zimmerman's past, character and history need examining, and are also factual, as is Martin's past and character.

Had the boy ever been in trouble with the law?

[A CA Guy]

After having his nose broken and his head banged on, what makes anyone think Zimmerman was in any condition to do much of anything by survive?

[stephenjohnbanker]

“Why are you lying? It was addressed to me.”

Oh, for Pete’s sake....of course it was addressed to you, but the poster blamed the news media, NOT you. You need help.....before the admin moderator has to delete all of your posts.

[dmzTahoe]

thank you :)

[jacknhoo]

Obviously, all it takes is a difference of opinion on here, to get your post deleted. I have noidea what your post said now...lol. I don’t really care. As long as it is a pne way conversation, what is the point? If you can’t handle a disagreement, that’s not my concern...I would be concerned, for those who strike opposing points of view.

I never am vulger nor obscene and I am also am about as Conservative as most people get. I can get downright sarcastic, in response to sarcasm.

I also have 6 children and I have two who have been shot at by nuts and this Zimmerman is a nut and it is disggusting how this site is taking up for him, simply because the Sharptons and Jacksons are making a stink out of it.

You’re on the losing end of this argument in the end and you all know it. No matter how much you try and silence the the truth, your blind faith in a corrupt man like Zimmerman will make you look pretty foolish in the end.

Nope, no juicy posts from me....not in all the years I have been on here...lol.

[BilLies]

aO bama You obvious failed the course in critical thinking.

“hands pressed on his back” indicates the encounter is terminated otherwise the women would have seen Zimmerman shoot Trayvon.

Why don’t we wait for the ballistics?

[cherry]

who says who started a fight?...I mean seriously, where are people getting this information....

granted, Z was an idiot, who should have just backed off but did he attack?...

if it was Z who was killed, how many protests do you think would take place defending the poor little black boy who was just protecting himself?....there would be 1000's defending his actions including all the black talking empty heads...

[Revolting cat!]

Busybody, eager beaver and a fool.

[BilLies]

BINGO!!!

[jwalsh07]

I didn’t think it could be too important. But I wanted to give you an opportunity to post whatever was on your mind while I was here to read it. Done and done.

[stephenjohnbanker]

Yeah, Neighborhood Watch is more of a benefit, than liability. As a guy who survived two deadly attacks, I’m glad we have one.

[org.whodat]

Read post 301, should answer your question. The man thought he was the law.

[Feckless]

If I put two in your chest I’m more likely to put one more in your head than to give you CPR.....just sayin’

[Admin Moderator]

Obviously, all it takes is a difference of opinion on here, to get your post deleted.

Calling someone a racist is what got your post deleted. Knock it off. We won't ask you to chill out again.

[Scoutmaster]

The man who wrote the law, and two governors and many elected representative say you are wrong. Take it up with them.

These officials are caught with their pants down because they forgot to write something into the law, or there are consequences of the law they didn't foresee, and now they're hearing from their constituents.

I don't have to take it up with them, however. Legislators write laws; courts interpret them. Legislators don't get a mulligan; they don't get to go back and say 'what I intended this law to mean was 'x' - sorry I forgot to include that in the language of the law - please hand me a pencil with an eraser and let me rewrite it after it was passed.' Nope. That's what amendments are for.

Now that an unambiguous law has been passed, the opinion of these officials is no more important than your opinion or mine, as a matter of law. The Florida law says what the Florida law says, for better or worse.

[stephenjohnbanker]

The politicians are running for cover, or in the case of Jeb Bush, Santorum, etc....trying to make political hay out of this. Sad.

[BilLies]

Have you visited the Sanborn Fl official web site and read the Zimmerman related documentation?
“Zimmerman should have ceased a pursuit and waited for backup as was instructed.’ First off he was not “instructed” but advised “you don’t have to do that” (911 tape).
Second: he was in his neighborhood and entitled to walk where he chose just like Trayvon.
Third: We don’t know what happened and series of jury will decide.
Fourth: Your intruder was allowed to opportunity to continue with his depredations because you did not have a gun or were too weak to take him...I would be in the same boat.
Fifth: I beleive you can sell your story to some liberal Hollywood story teller.

[org.whodat]

No Florida law says what a jury of twelve will say it does. And the man that wrote the law can get on the stand and give his opinion. The judge and jury will then take that into consideration.