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Nancy Grace
George Zimmerman Trial; The Zimmerman Police Tapes
Aired July 18, 2013 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, ACQUITTED OF MURDER: I do see (INAUDIBLE) and I was walking back to my truck.
He jumped out from the bushes, and he said, What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is your problem, homey?
You`ve got a problem now. And he was here, and he punched me in the face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suspect punched me in the face.
ZIMMERMAN: I see people looking, and some guy yells out, I`m calling 911. And I said, Help me, help me, he`s killing me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The suspect got on top of me. I yelled help.
ZIMMERMAN: I think I was trying to push him away from me. And then (INAUDIBLE) I started screaming for help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The suspect told me, Shut the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up as I tried to sit up.
ZIMMERMAN: He puts his hand on my nose and on my mouth and he says, You`re going to die tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Grabbed my head and...
ZIMMERMAN: And he kept slamming and slamming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... and slammed it into the concrete sidewalk several times.
ZIMMERMAN: So I grabbed it immediately, and as he banged my head again (INAUDIBLE) he said, You`re going to die tonight (EXPLETIVE DELETED), and I grabbed it and I just grabbed my firearm and I shot him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Sanford, Florida, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin heads home to his father`s condo, gunned down by the captain of neighborhood watch, George Zimmerman. Within hours, Zimmerman at police HQ laying out his version of what he says happens the night Trayvon Martin shot dead, and it`s all caught on tape, the same video seen by the jury at the murder trial.
Tonight, inside the police interrogation room, where Zimmerman tells lead investigators what happens that deadly February night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) and I don`t know. My adrenaline was rushing. A thousand things went through my mind. I gave them what I thought was my address (INAUDIBLE) 1900 building instead of the 1400. And when I walked to see the address, I saw the end of the house, and he was at the side of the house, looking in the window. (INAUDIBLE) He looked at me, and threw the cigarette out and ran around the back.
So I told non-emergency -- I think it was non-emergency at that time, that, you know, I don`t know where you guys are coming from, but he`s around back. And I don`t know where he went.
And I stayed in front of the house where the street light was. And I waited and I waited and I waited. And then it hit me -- the police came and drove past me. And then is when it hit me that I gave them (INAUDIBLE) address instead of that address. So I called back, and I said, you know, the correct address.
(INAUDIBLE) came back. (INAUDIBLE) the house was completely dark. The window was open. So -- and the front door wasn`t -- the police later told me the front door was unlocked, all the windows were open in the house. And the front door was unlocked, the garage was open. And so they went in. They cleared the house. Oh, they asked me for the owner`s phone number. And then they asked for permission to go inside the house (INAUDIBLE)
Then the next loop (ph) -- not at that building but the next building at the end unit, the guy I saw broke in, apparently stole a laptop, from what I understand, ran off. But one of the maintenance guys saw him and was able to give the police a direction of where he was going and he was actually arrested.
So when I saw him in the same area in front of the guy`s house that I know -- they keep it unsecured, and he was looking into the house, I just thought something doesn`t fit right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is -- this is the one prior to this one, right?
ZIMMERMAN: No, this is -- I`m sorry. That`s why I felt it was suspicious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you think Trayvon was doing (INAUDIBLE) being suspicious?
ZIMMERMAN: He was looking at the house intently and...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What, the same house?
ZIMMERMAN: The same house that -- yes, that I had called about before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he stop? Did he...
ZIMMERMAN: He stopped.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In front of the house?
ZIMMERMAN: He stopped (INAUDIBLE) the house, and then I drove -- there was a car light backing up, so I slowed down, and then I drove around him. And he kept looking at me. And then when I passed -- oh, it was raining. And I said, You know what? He`s not walking briskly to get out of the rain. He wasn`t -- he didn`t look like a marathon (ph) runner, active, and like, you know, that trains in the rain. He was just walking slowly and in the grass and on the sidewalk. (INAUDIBLE) something`s off. So that`s why I called non-emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know you`re going to get a lot of scrutiny over this, correct?
ZIMMERMAN: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had this person been white, would you have felt the same way?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: What, was he walking in between the buildings or...
ZIMMERMAN: He was walking, like, in the grassy area, like, up towards -- kind of between these two poles. And like I said, it was raining, and he wasn`t -- he was just leisurely looking at the house. And like I said, my wife is -- I left for the grocery store, and I just felt like something was off about him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
ZIMMERMAN: So I said -- and there`s been a history of break-ins in that building. And I called previously about this house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
ZIMMERMAN: When the police arrived at this house, when I called the first time, the windows were open and the door was unlocked. And the police came and secured it. So I said, You know what? It`s better to just call and...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: I kept driving. I passed him. And he was -- he kept staring at me and staring around, looking around to see who else was -- I don`t know why he was looking (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he walk off from there or did he stop there last night?
ZIMMERMAN: He stopped. And he -- he, like, looked around. And that`s why I -- that`s what threw me off, was it`s raining. I didn`t understand why somebody would be just stopping in the rain, especially, you know -- it wasn`t like he was trying to run to get out of the rain. And I had never seen him before. It didn`t look like he was exercising.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did he -- where was he standing at when you stopped?
ZIMMERMAN: Right there, 1460 (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the sidewalk or in the grass area?
ZIMMERMAN: In the grassy area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right in the grassy area? OK. Like, About right in front of where the car is?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then you just...
ZIMMERMAN: I drove past him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: And I went to the clubhouse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
ZIMMERMAN: Here on the right-hand side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And parked up there?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what was this -- naturally (INAUDIBLE) naturally, he left. He caught up to you up here or...
ZIMMERMAN: Yes. I called the non-emergency line. And when I got through, I parked at the clubhouse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
ZIMMERMAN: And they asked me, you know, where I was. And I told them the clubhouse. And I think I gave them the address of the clubhouse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did you park at?
ZIMMERMAN: Right up here next to that green truck. I don`t know if the truck was there, but I just pulled up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So you just pulled in here.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: He`s got his hand in his waistband. And he`s a black male.
911 OPERATOR: OK. How old would you say he was?
ZIMMERMAN: He`s got a button on his shirt. Late teens.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) It`s hard to believe that whatever happened (INAUDIBLE) was caught on videotape. Right there, that`s a cell phone.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK? That`s a camera. There`s a very slim possibility that (INAUDIBLE) going to help you, or you know, not help you. And that`s why I`ve got to clarify a few things about what happened out there. How tall are you and how much do you weigh?
ZIMMERMAN: I`m 5-8, 184 (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Trayvon is about 6 foot, about 130 (ph) pounds, skinny kid. Obviously, (INAUDIBLE) anything that you haven`t said might be in that phone.
ZIMMERMAN: I pray to God that someone videotaped it, or the neighborhood had put up a videocamera that I didn`t know about or something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not going to guarantee it, but like I said (INAUDIBLE) possibility. I`m hoping myself, OK?
Another thing, too, as far as 25 and 30 punches -- I`ve consulted with a lot of people, not quite consistent with your injuries. You do have injuries, however. How did he manage to bang your head (INAUDIBLE) misunderstood what you said here as far as slamming the head into the concrete. How did he do that?
ZIMMERMAN: I was on my back. (INAUDIBLE) first punched me, I don`t know if I immediately fell down or he threw me down or I was stumbling. I ended up on my back. And he was on top of me, mounted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: And he kept punching me. And then when I started yelling for help, that`s when he grabbed my head and started to slam it...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grabbed your head. By your ears, by (INAUDIBLE)
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: Every time he punched my nose, it just...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times did you get punched in the nose? A couple, three?
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t know. I don`t remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You never got a chance to hit him. You have no defense wounds here. Any bruising on your body?
ZIMMERMAN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No broken ribs, no fractured ribs, none of that?
ZIMMERMAN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pain? No?
ZIMMERMAN: My doctor said I sprained my (INAUDIBLE) It`s like a big bruise, but deep in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Is that what (INAUDIBLE) Did you see his face (INAUDIBLE) the night it happened?
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. He`s young -- young, tall and skinny, 17. That`s him again. I`m showing you this because you`re going to have to someday meet his family. That`s just how these things work eventually. And they have a lot of questions, obviously, and I want you (ph) to be privy to that. Like I said, I`m basically out of it after this. (INAUDIBLE) video. That`s a good thing. And like I said (INAUDIBLE) got to see this before you see (INAUDIBLE) OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: Non-emergency. And I started walking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: Down this way. And because I didn`t see a street sign here, but I knew if I went straight through, that that`s Retreat View Circle and I could give him an address because they said, Give me the address of the house you`re in front of. And there`s no address because this is the back of the house. So I walked here, and I didn`t see him at all. I was walking. And I was still on the phone with the non-emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: I got to about -- I got to about here. And I had a flashlight with me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: 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. He`s not even here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
ZIMMERMAN: So I still thought I could use their address, so I walked all the way through. 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 -- they said, Do you still want a police officer? And I said yes.
And they said are you following him -- oh, 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 OK.
So I -- that`s when I walked straight through here to get the address so that I could meet the police officer. And then they said -- I said, He`s not here. They said, Do you still want him to come? And I said yes. And they said, Where do you want him to come to? And I said, You know what? Just tell him to meet me at my truck, next to the clubhouse. He can go straight into the clubhouse, and makes a left. (INAUDIBLE) a silver Hummer (INAUDIBLE) parked right there. I`ll meet him right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When we come back, more of Zimmerman`s stunning police interrogation just hours after the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. And it`s all caught on tape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: When I slid, my jacket and my shirt came up. And when he said, You`re going to die tonight, I felt his hand go down on my side, and I thought he was going for my firearm. So I grabbed it immediately. And as he banged my head again...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s gunshots!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said that we weren`t able to identify the victim. And he said, He`s dead?
BERNIE DE LA RIONDA, PROSECUTOR: And how did he react?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shocked.
ZIMMERMAN: After I shot him, he, like, sat up. Once I shot him, I holstered my firearm.
DE LA RIONDA: Why he would holster his gun back if he was so scared of Trayvon Martin, if he was still alive, why he would holster his gun back?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: After the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman grilled by investigators. Defense? The high school junior jumps out from behind bushes and attacks Zimmerman. All this after dispatchers tell Zimmerman, Do not follow Martin. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) you don`t have the authority to go ahead and stop legally (INAUDIBLE)
ZIMMERMAN: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re working under the color of absolutely private citizen. And I don`t know if this is going to help at this point, but had you told (INAUDIBLE) that you were neighborhood watch, maybe this (INAUDIBLE) return to your car, you probably wouldn`t be here right now. Did that -- did that ever register to you at all? I mean, I`ve got to (INAUDIBLE) get into your head somehow. And like I said, I answer to the family right now.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did (INAUDIBLE) go ahead and follow him? I mean, a lot of what we do out here in law enforcement is basically a lot of talking and a lot of casual encounters, defensive encounters (INAUDIBLE) Did it ever occur to you to go ahead and actually ask this person what he was doing out there?
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it fear, precaution, safety, all of above, or...
ZIMMERMAN: I didn`t want to confront him and (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So by not -- were you -- your job is not really to do anything at all when it comes to that kind of (INAUDIBLE) it wasn`t your job to monitor him either. But for future reference, I mean, you can usually dismiss a lot of this kind of insanity. I mean, had that been done -- and that`s, you know -- and from our vantage point, you`ve had two opportunities to identify yourself as somebody who was actually (INAUDIBLE) do him harm.
Problem being, is that we`re (INAUDIBLE) in his mind`s eye, which I can`t get into because he`s passed, that he perceives you as a threat, OK? He perceives you as a threat, he has every right to (INAUDIBLE) defend himself, especially when (INAUDIBLE)
What I`m gravitating to here is to say that, like I said, it -- could that have been a possibility (INAUDIBLE) Where do you think his mindset was? What made him snap? Can you fill in that blank?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Self-defense or murder? When we come back, more of the George Zimmerman police interrogation video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Are you following him?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: OK, we don`t need you to do that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had an intent in his mind, and he carried out that intent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just said shot him! Yes, the person is dead, laying on the ground!
RACHEL JEANTEL, FRIEND OF TRAYVON MARTIN: He kept complaining that the man was just watching him. He just told me the man -- the man looked creepy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So there`s just someone is screaming outside.
911 OPERATOR: Do you think he`s yelling help?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: All right. What is your...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounds like a male.
DE LA RIONDA: The yells for help that you heard in that time, could you identify whether it was the dominant, louder voice or the higher-pitched one?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, in my opinion, I truly believe, especially the second yell for help, that it was like a -- you know, a yelp. It was excruciating. I really felt it was a boy`s voice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: As George Zimmerman tries to explain why he calls dispatchers claiming Trayvon Martin seems suspicious, lead investigator Chris Serino tells Zimmerman the night Trayvon Martin gunned down, the high school junior was only carrying Skittles and an Arizona iced tea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: The only thing was, when he walked up to my car, he reached in his waistband and held his hand there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was probably holding his iced tea.
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
ZIMMERMAN: It was raining, so I had my windows up and I was on the phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How close to your car did he get?
ZIMMERMAN: Maybe a car length.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think set him off?
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: When I got to -- I passed 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, to the side of me. He said, Yo, you got a problem?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Next, is George Zimmerman`s interview with police consistent with what happened the night Trayvon Martin shot dead? You decide.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. Do you need police, fire or medical?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe both. I`m not sure. There`s just someone screaming outside.
TRACY MARTIN, TRAYVON MARTIN`S FATHER: After listening to the tape for maybe 20 times, it was Trayvon`s voice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, his son is yelling for help.
MARK O`MARA, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN`S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: And what was his response?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looked away. And under his breath, as I interpreted, said no.
911 OPERATOR: Does he look hurt to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tracy Martin saying that was not his son`s voice?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was not his son`s voice that was screaming for help.
MARTIN: My response was -- I didn`t tell them, No, that wasn`t Trayvon, I had just kind of shook my head and said I can`t tell.
O`MARA: So your words were, I can`t tell.
MARTIN: Something to that effect. But I never said no, that that wasn`t my son`s voice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s no doubt that he was telling us that that didn`t sound like his son to him.
MARTIN: Basically, what I was listening to, I was listening to my son`s last cry for help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they`re yelling help, but I don`t know.
O`MARA: Whose voice is it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: George Zimmerman`s voice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was Georgie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was George.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s George screaming for help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is George Zimmerman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know what`s going on so...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re sending.
O`MARA: Did you instruct him to say that the police lied about it being your son`s voice?
MARTIN: I never instructed anyone to say anything. I was listening to his life being taken, coming to grips that Trayvon was here no more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Sanford, Florida, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin heads home to his father`s condo, gunned down by the captain of neighborhood watch, Zimmerman. Within hours, George Zimmerman at police HQ, laying out what he says happened the night Martin shot dead. And it`s all caught on tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I still don`t understand. When he walked up to you, why didn`t you say anything to him?
ZIMMERMAN: I guess fear. I didn`t want to confront him. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were afraid of him.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And do you say he ran?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then you got out of your car and ran after him.
ZIMMERMAN: I didn`t run after him, no. I walked to find the street name or a street sign. And he had already run -- cut out between the houses. So I knew that if I walked straight through that little sidewalk, I knew that that was my street (INAUDIBLE) Retreat View Circle. But when I was walking around, my truck lights stay on, and he wasn`t there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So was that portion of that tape that you could see through it up by your truck light?
ZIMMERMAN: It was lit up partially. Because it only stays on for a few -- I don`t know how long. But it stays on for a while.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you went out you shut your car off and took your keys with you?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said you didn`t, and you didn`t, OK, at that point you didn`t see him. OK, you did say on the phone call, he`s running. And you get out of your car the dispatch tell you stay in your car. And -- but yet you decide to go ahead towards him, so how many streets are in that subdivision?
ZIMMERMAN: I think three?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And you`re part of the homeowner`s association. Are you head of the neighborhood watch.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Once again, something else I got to try to explain away. How do you not know the three streets in your neighborhood, you`ve been living there for three years? ZIMMERMAN: I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do I explain that one away that you`re saying you didn`t know what street is the one of three streets that live in the community, that you`re the head of the homeowners, head of the whatever. You know what I`m saying? How do I do that?
ZIMMERMAN: To be honest with you, I have a bad memory anyway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that might explain why you didn`t know the street you were at.
ZIMMERMAN: I just -- have a terrible memory. I gave -- when they asked me the address, I don`t know why I always think my address is 1960. And it`s 1950. I don`t know why.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those numbers are confusing in the whole place. I had a hard time orienting myself also. I mean, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
ZIMMERMAN: The one thing I can tell you is that the streets -- those middle streets, I don`t -- I can`t remember the names now. But I know that they change names. Once it branches left, it`s different one. Once it branches right, it`s a different name. So --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. But I guess that that`s going to be one of the issues that I have to clarify and that`s why we`re here today.
ZIMMERMAN: He said, "yo, you got a problem?" And I turned around and I said, "No, I don`t have a problem, man."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where was he at?
ZIMMERMAN: He was about there, but he walking towards me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This direction here?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, like I said, I was all right passed that, so I didn`t see exactly where he came from. But he was about where you were.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: And I said, "I don`t have a problem." And I went to grab my cell phone. But my -- I left it in a different pocket. And I looked down in my pant pocket and he said, "You got a problem now." And then he was here and he punched me in the face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here?
ZIMMERMAN: Right that`s about up around here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: To be honest, I don`t remember exactly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s fine.
ZIMMERMAN: I think I stumbled. And I -- I fell down. He pushed me down, somehow he got on top of me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the grass or on the cement?
ZIMMERMAN: It was -- more over towards here. I think I was trying to push him away from me. And then he got on top of me somewhere around here. And that`s when I started screaming for help. I started screaming, "help, help," as loud as I could.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: 911, do you need police, fire or medical?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe both, I`m not sure. There is just someone screaming outside.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: OK, what`s the address that they`re near? OK. Or is it a male or female?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounds like a male.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: And you don`t know why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know why. I think they`re yelling "help," but I don`t know. Just send someone quick.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: OK. Does he look hurt?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t see him. I don`t want to go out there, I don`t know what`s going on, so -- they`re sending.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: So you think he keeps yelling "help?"
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your holster. What kind of holster do you have?
ZIMMERMAN: I did not have a retainer, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sp an unsecure holster basically? OK. No locking mechanism, no safety feature, nothing?
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was inside your pants?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. He was mounted on your upper chest. At what point were you free on your wrist side to go ahead and pull out your weapon?
ZIMMERMAN: When he was mounted on me, but he had pressure on my noise and my mouth suffocating me, and when he let go of my mouth and started reaching down my side you`re going to die with me. I didn`t need my hand any more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ZIMMERMAN: Because he let go of my mouth. I don`t remember if I was screaming or not. That`s when I grabbed his hand, and I grabbed my firearm and fired. So once he let go that I realized he was going to kill me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long did you suffocate you for?
ZIMMERMAN: Felt like hours but I don`t recall.
That was when he grabbed -- I tried to sit up and that`s when he grabbed me by the head and tried to slam my head down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you on the cement?
ZIMMERMAN: No, my body was on the grass. My head was on the cement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going like this.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir. That`s as best as I could feel through my jacket. It felt like my body was on the grass and my head was on the cement. And he just kept slamming and slamming. And I kept yelling, "help, help, help," as loud as I could. He put his hand on his nose -- on my nose, and other hand on my mouth. And he said, "shut the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up." And then I tried squirming again, because all I could think about was when he was hitting my head against -- it felt like my head was going to explode, and I thought I was going to lose consciousness.
So is 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." And I don`t know what they did. But that`s when my jacket moved up and I had my firearm on my right side hip.
My jacket moved up, and he saw -- I feel like he saw it, looked at it, and he said, "You`re going to die tonight (EXPLETIVE DELETED)," and he reached for it and he reached -- like I felt his arm going down to my side and I grabbed it and I just grabbed my firearm and I shot him. One time.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: All right. What is your -- `
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s gunshots.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: You just heard gunshots?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: How many?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just one. Jeremy, get down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you shot him, what did he say?
ZIMMERMAN: After I shot him, he like sat up --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re still --
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down here. Sounds like he`s on the grass.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir, he was on top of me like this. I shot him. And I didn`t think I hit him. Because he sat up and he said, "oh, you got me." "You got it, you got me," something like that. So I thought he was just saying, I know you have a gun now, I heard t I`m giving up. So I don`t know if I pushed him off me, fell off me, either way, I got on top of him. And I pushed his arms apart --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you try to flip him over?
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t remember how I got on top of him, I`m sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s fine.
ZIMMERMAN: But I got on his back and I 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 -- I moved his hand apart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you had him face-down then?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, face-down and I was off his back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When we come back, caught on tape. More of George Zimmerman`s stunning police interrogation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: George Zimmerman tells police he`s in fear for his life when he pulls out a .9 millimeter Kel-Tec on 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, claiming Martin was armed with a deadly weapon. The sidewalk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it a full-sized 9 or a small 9?
ZIMMERMAN: Compact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Compact? And you were able to overpower him as far as holding his wrist, you gained wrist -- we call it wrist control. You gained wrist control on him basically and you were able to basically liberate both hands?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You raised it up. Do you remember hitting him with the pistol?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Distance wise?
ZIMMERMAN: I just remember not wanting to hit my own hand, and I was holding his, so it went past my hand, my body, and I fired in this direction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You OK? You need some water or something?
ZIMMERMAN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something cold?
ZIMMERMAN: No, thanks. It`s fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, all right.
ZIMMERMAN: I did -- you said that the operator told me to stay in my car. They didn`t tell me to stay in my car. They said are you following him. And I was walking where he had walked. And I said yes. And they said we don`t need you to do that. And I said OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they said OK. Maybe you`d already gotten out of your car. I didn`t hear any bells in the -- like when you open the door and it goes, bing, bing, bing. Or something like that. I didn`t hear any of that so yes.
ZIMMERMAN: It does do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It does? OK. I didn`t catch the sound of it. Did you catch it on the recording? The doors opening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought I could hear the door closed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, yes. Because I was kind f unclear on that. OK. I wasn`t trying to trip you up but you had gotten out of your car, but once again, this goes to the question of -- once in fear for not lowering your window because he`s right in front of you, to outside exposing yourself to the possibility of being attacked by the person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he comes up to your car, you`re telling them, right? That he`s --
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s reaching in his waistband.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what do you think there`s a possibility that he has?
ZIMMERMAN: Well, the guy three weeks, two weeks prior -- the same thing when he saw me, he put his hand in his jacket and watched me walk by. And then he lit up a cigarette. So I thought he was just trying to look tough or intimidate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you didn`t think he had a weapon?
ZIMMERMAN: No. Not at the time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You thought he was trying to bluff you.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, it did that scare you? The bluff?
ZIMMERMAN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ever work security before?
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You worked at a party one time security, right?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Was that paid for or just --
ZIMMERMAN: It wasn`t paid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. There`s thing called challenging somebody, now you haven`t challenged this person while he was out next to your car so you went out there just like you said, and dialed 911 and right after that you turned around and there he was.
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir. I walked past where he went through. To go to Retreat View Circle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which would have been he was heading back to his house, where he was staying.
ZIMMERMAN: I have no idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s where he was going to I`m just letting you know that.
ZIMMERMAN: Something is wrong with him. Yes, he`s coming to check me out. He`s got something in his hands. I don`t know what his deal is. These (EXPLETIVE DELETED), they always get away.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: Are you following him?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: OK. We don`t need you to do that.
ZIMMERMAN: OK.
When I walked and I saw he wasn`t there anymore. They asked me for my address and I gave them my address. And I said, you know, I would like -- they might know where I live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he may have been within earshot of you, you thought but you couldn`t see him.
ZIMMERMAN: I could not see him at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you -- how close could, OK.
ZIMMERMAN: I didn`t like anyone --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s fine. That`s --
ZIMMERMAN: and they said, around that time is when they said we don`t need you to follow him so I continued walking straight to my street. When I came back, I was coming back, and I passed the sidewalk that he went to. I didn`t see where he came from, but he was not there. And I told nonemergency, he`s not here. And they said, you still want us to send a car and I said yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that what`s there? Was that there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there`s what he said, right, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they were talking, they just had a discussion about meeting at the mailboxes and you said never mind. I`ll tell them where I`m at.
ZIMMERMAN: I thought I told them -- because I first pulled up and I gave them that address. And then I told them my location according -- go straight through and to the left and you`ll see my truck there. And I think I gave the description of my truck. The color, make and model. And I -- when they said where do you want us to meet you, I said just have them meet me back at my truck. And that`s when I was looking towards my truck.
And then somebody came with the flashlight. And I thought it was a police officer. So I said, "Are you the police." And I still had my hand out. And I told them, I said, "Are you the police?" And my gun is right here. And he goes, 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`re on their way, they coming, I need your help."
And that is when the police officer came around. I saw the police officer, 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. I said "I did" and I don`t know if he told me to or I just automatic me turned my back to him. And I lifted my shirt and I said my gun is right there. And I told him a few times, my gun is right there. And he goes, OK, I understand. Just need you to keep your hands up. And got the handcuffs on me and took my firearm from me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Next, captain of neighborhood watch, George Zimmerman, sits down with cops and it`s all caught on video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: What exactly did Zimmerman tell police the night Martin was gunned down? Take a listen from inside the police interrogation room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So, when he approached you, his words were. "What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) your problem? Correct?
ZIMMERMAN: Something to that effect.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you use the world horrible.
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you at that time ever say to him I`m neighborhood watch?
ZIMMERMAN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did it not occur to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I said I don`t have a problem and I started backing away from him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you kind of did have a problem. That`s why you were following the radio, right?
ZIMMERMAN: I was scared --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were scared to tell him you were neighborhood watch? You were afraid to tell him that?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m not trying to put you on the spot. But there are the questions people are going to ask us, so we`re going to have to give them an answer.
ZIMMERMAN: No, I understand. I was scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it seemed like the right opportunity to say, look, I`m neighborhood watch. I don`t recognize you. Are you staying here?
ZIMMERMAN: Because he came, came up out of nowhere, I didn`t see him. I was walking right to car thinking I was going to meet a police officer there. So when he popped up, he just caught me off guard. I didn`t think I tell him who I was --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But can you see how that would maybe frighten him? You`ve been following him now for the whole time.
ZIMMERMAN: What do you mean?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. You`re watching him.
ZIMMERMAN: I didn`t --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he makes it clear to you he sees you. He walks up to your car, correct?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was making it clear to you, I recognize your following me.
ZIMMERMAN: I didn`t know he was doing that or he was doubling back or what he was doing --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, but the reason why he`d say, do you have a problem, was because for no other reason you were following him. In other words, you weren`t just walking around the like, he didn`t walk up to you and you say, you got a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) problem, he didn`t try to rob you, he didn`t try to -- you know, he`s asking what the f-ing, your problem. Now, could it be possibly just said, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) problem?
No. No. I didn`t. No, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were your aspirations to go into law enforcement because you got a degree in criminal justice?
ZIMMERMAN: No, I wanted to before though.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the time of the encounter with him, was there anything in your head?
ZIMMERMAN: I think my flashlight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. The flash flight, was it working it not working. It was dead. OK. It was not clicking on it. That was you right in the left hand.
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t recall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And you looked away when I was there? When you got punched, or did you see the punch coming?
ZIMMERMAN: No, I walked past where he went through and I started walking back to my car and that`s when he yelled out and I turned around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. How far away was he? Can`t talk?
ZIMMERMAN: And as soon as he did that I started backing up towards my car and that`s when I wanted to call 911 instead of nonemergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you realize how, the way these cases can go?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. How can they go?
ZIMMERMAN: Either justifiable homicide or murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When we come back, George Zimmerman caught on tape. We have the video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: We remember American hero Marine Lance Corporal Alec Catherwood, just 19 years old, Byron, Illinois. Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon. Parents Kirk and Gretchen, grandparents, Donald and Mary, sister, Michaela.
Alec Catherwood, American hero.
And now, straight back and to the police interrogation room where George Zimmerman tells Sanford Police Department about the night he guns down high school junior Trayvon Martin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that`s why like I`m saying, you know, I mean I`m going to try something with you that I`ve done before. It`s something I mean let`s say we try it would you close your eyes for me? OK. And I want you to put yourself back in the scene. Sunday night about 7:00, you`re looking at this kid, you`re getting out of your car, talking to the dispatcher.
You hang up the dispatcher. OK. Give yourself a couple seconds to go ahead and think about what happened after that. Now you`re going to try to act like exactly what happened. OK. I`m going to be the kid. What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is your problem? You say what you said.
ZIMMERMAN: I don`t have a problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At that point nothing else was said?
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Think. What did he say the first time he hit you?
ZIMMERMAN: I didn`t say a thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So there was no conversation prior. OK. We`re good. Open your eyes.
ZIMMERMAN: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing at all.
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. That never works just, you know got to try it, though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Everyone, thank you for being with us tonight. Good night, friend.
END
