GZ did not witness a crime taking place. He saw Martin acting “suspiciously”. If any of my neighbors saw a crime taking place, especially a home invasion, I would expect a lot of guns and people to appear very shortly. This is different from somebody looking “suspicious”. GZ may be a fine man, but getting out of the car in this situation was not necessary and caused him a lot of problems. I hope that he is acquitted and never has got through that experience again.
I agree with everything you say *except* that Zimmerman was trying to find out where TM was going. A hooded figure who fit the description of numerous thugs who had been terrorizing his neighborhood and who he had no idea belonged there. Despite the media’s lies, no police officer told him ‘not to follow’ TM but rather, a dispatcher said, ‘we don’t need you to do that’ , even though he just asked George for an address.