This is truly a sad, sad, story.
After repeated calls for the release of the 911 audio in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, the Sanford police department finally released the audio on Friday.
Trayvon’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton of Miami Gardens, arrived at Sanford City Hall to hear the tapes.
Martin broke down and and “cried like a baby,” when he heard his son pleading for his life on one of the audio tapes.
“You hear a shot, a clear shot, then you hear a 17-year-old boy begging for his life,” said Natalie Jackson, one of the family’s attorneys. “Then you hear a second shot.”
The first shot can be heard in the distance — “a warning shot,” said attorney Ben Crump. The second shot is much closer.
“It is shocking when you hear these 911 tapes,” said Crump. “It was far worse than they thought it was going to be.”
In all, the Sanford police released 8 audio tapes — 7 calls placed to 911 by nervous witnesses, and one call from the shooter, 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who claimed he killed Trayvon in self-defense.
“This is an insult to this family,” attorney Natalie Jackson said. “This was not self-defense, this was not manslaughter, this was murder.”
“How can you claim self-defense and you are the aggressor?,” said Trayvon’s distraught father.
Tracy Martin had taken Trayvon to visit a friend who lived in a gated community in Sanford, Florida. Trayvon later left the house to walk to a nearby convenience store to buy a bag of Skittles and a can of ice tea. On his way back, he caught the attention of Zimmerman, who was cruising the neighborhood in his SUV.
Zimmerman called 911 to report a “suspicious person” inside The Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community, about 20 miles north of Orlando.
CLICK to listen to the 911 call
“This guy looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something,”Zimmerman tells the 911 operator. “It’s raining and he’s just walking around looking at houses,” says Zimmerman. The call was one of 46 calls to 911 made by Zimmerman in the past to report suspicious persons.
“He’s just staring, looking at all the houses. Now he’s coming toward me. He’s got his hand in his waistband. Something’s wrong with him,” says Zimmerman in a calm voice.
The 911 dispatcher asked Zimmerman to describe the man’s race and age. “He’s a black male… late teens,” Zimmerman responds.
Zimmerman described Martin as wearing a hoodie and sweatpants or jeans. He continues: “He’s coming to check me out. He’s got something in his hands. I don’t know what his deal is. Can we get an officer over here?”
“These assholes always get away,” he tells the 911 operator. “Shit, he’s running,”Zimmerman says calmly.
The dispatcher told Zimmerman that he was sending an officer.
[A car door slams shut]
“Are you following him?” the dispatcher asks.
“Yeah,” Zimmerman responds.
“Okay. We don’t need you to do that,” the dispatcher says.
“Okay,” Zimmerman replies.
But Zimmerman followed Trayvon anyway. Moments later, a rash of emergency calls placed to 911 from inside the community described a scuffle, cries for help and a gunshot.
But until Friday, Trayvon’s parents and the public were told that the person crying for help was the 200 pound Zimmerman.
In one of the audio tapes, a frightened voice cries out for help and pleading “No! No!” and then wailing, before a gunshot ends the cries.
Mary Cutcher, 31, whose back door was steps away from where Trayvon was shot, said she heard a boy crying, then a gunshot, then the crying stopped.
“I heard someone crying – not boo-hoo crying, but scared or terrified or hurt maybe,” said Cutcher. “To me, it was a child.”
Crutcher and her roommate said they rushed outside to see Zimmerman standing over Trayvon, with one foot on either side of Trayvon’s body. In one hand, Zimmerman held a .9 mm handgun, his other hand was on Trayvon, who was face down in the grass.
Crutcher’s roommate said she asked Zimmerman 3 times what was going on. He told her to call 911. Then he raised both hands over his head in the universal sign of ‘Oh man, I did something bad.’
Police arrived on the scene in minutes. Trayvon’s body was bagged and taken to the morgue, where he was tagged as a John Doe. No one contacted Trayvon’s family even though police had Trayvon’s cell phone in their possession.
Zimmerman was taken in for questioning and released. No charges were filed. Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee said Zimmerman was released because he had a “squeaky clean” record.
But if Lee had actually checked that record, he would have known that Zimmerman was arrested in 2005 for battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. Strangely, all charges against Zimmerman were dropped in that case.
On Feb. 27 — the day after Trayvon was murdered — Tracy Martin called 911 to report his son missing. Police asked him to describe his son. Later, police showed up at the house where Martin was staying. They brought with them a photograph of Trayvon lying in the morgue. The teenager had blood coming out of his mouth.
That’s how a father found out his oldest son was dead.
Lady Arrested For Attacking Her Man Because He Climaxed Before Her!!
Mitt Romney Concedes In Florida After Senior Advisor Admits They Didn’t Do Enough To Win!
Principal Resigns After Offering Promotions In Exchange For S*xual Favors!
This is a child going to the store getting candy & some iced tea, not cocaine & booze which would still justify murder of this malice ever…I’m ashamed because I Love Jesus so much and I so hate and very angered and i have hatred for a self appointed jealous, hellish total liar that would shoot an unarmed young good,good looking kind illustrious teenager BECAUSE HE IS A BIG BRUTE BEAST scouring the premises for( only a these people always get away feast.).how in the hell is that true most all blackmen are in prisons whether they done a damn thing or not or are being blazed down to the ground at close range, liar bully and my congradulations to your parents george they have a real prize in you beastly murder no mercy man….AND MAY NONE BE SHOWN YOU!!!!!
You had a point until “most all blackmen are in prisons whether they done a damn thing or not”. That’s not true at all and you’re obviously deluded. MOST of them did do something bad, too many of them, and that’s why when you see a black man walking around suspiciously people tend to think he’s a criminal. If black people actually committed less crimes than they do Trayvon might not have been sterotyped as a criminal and he might still be alive today. His blood is on the hands of every criminally intent black person as it is on Zimmerman’s. Blacks need to stop breaking laws and being so violent which EVERYONE knows is true. How many white people have been killed by a black man just this day?
that basters shod of just let the polices take care of it.
Still not not justify murder…i meant!
And further understand we are grateful for ALL the support of people nation and Worldwide whose color is only LOVE that rally because God ears heard this Son crying in his hour to be executed in the rain by a black heart beast who is so gun hoe trigger pulling arrogant that you would disobey an order given to you by law enforcement command. What the hell is going on here Military & Police are the most structured forces in the World for what they do as to what ORDERS mean…i know now my family live on Air Force 1 base proctecting The president The Oval Office Highest Officiate [Commander-In-Chief] and i can tell you The Air Force AND MILITARY is the finest in the World, i dont care what people hear and say bad about them! They have ORDER TOGETHER! What the hell happen here is when the lone ranger tonto rides into rank that is imaginary only to him..the very serious dire problem is that Our Children beautiful Black Sons don’t get a chance to live and excel because some one the filthy ancestors of hitler and dracular want to taste our blood. We thank Our President for his caring words of condolences when Our Sons are viciously gunned down as mine 9/22/05, yea it is Personal because they are all our sons, the words God filled Our president Barak to speak that if he had a son he would look like trayvon, whose knows if that is the reason he got gunned down, the seething hatred they have «the black heart club»but now i must be concerned about my 15yr.old illustrious artist son that bear striking resemblence to President Barak it isn’t cute anylonger..we don’t have secret service. But one thing i feel assured that Jesus have set in motion george zimmermen must be arrested, indicted and convicted GUILTY for FIRST DEGREE PREMEDITATED MURDER..AS AN ADVOCATE AGAINST MURDER MY MOTTO IS If it wasn’t for the murderer, THERE WOULD BE NO MURDER! He must pay they must get him off the streets, he is not special, the hell with accidental, he is dangerous and must be tried and tied to Prison for life like anyone else.
I am so hurt by what happened to this innocent person what made him so imtimatding. People are saying this is not a racial thing but this is he got killed because the color of his skin what made u so scared of sum fucking skittles n an ice tea what the fuck was he gonna do choke u with the skittles and throw the ice tea in your eye. This broke my heart to hear this Geogre Zimmerman i wish i could meet u bitch i would kill u myself he didn’t deserve it obviously he was not threatning u if he was running for his life ur cruel , ur mean , ur heartless n ur a monster u took an innocent boy away from his mom n dad now he has to suffer how the fuck would you feel if sum1 killed u that way while u was on the phone with your girlfriend and u were screaming for your life they better keep u n jail because if they dont i will hunt u down n make u suffer the way Trayvon did U fat face bitch Ur ugly n u were juss to big to tryn hurt that boy but i will tell u that i will have justice for TRAYVON MARTIN IF ITZ THE LAST THING I DO. U DESERVE TO BE UNDER THE JAIL N SUMBODY NEED TO SCRATCH UR EYES OUT N BURN U.
God bless your heart sasha i understand your honest frustration you not the only one that feel like this God has many angels that want a beast to be able to CEASE from hurting and killing innocent people..he is a terrible man and anyone who don’t know the seriousness of the act murder is …is terrible people too like their dark hero they protect to be left free to go murder somebody else…sick, sick society. This have hurt us so much inside killing this young sweet precious child like this..he was minding his own business…it is getting to the point we cannot go outside alone after dark…i don’t allow my son out after dark we live in texas!