Does video cast doubt on Zimmerman’s story?

By The Red Phoenix on April 3, 2012 • ( 0 )

Msnbc’s Thomas Roberts speaks with contributor and Managing Editor for the Grio, Joy-Ann Reid, and Rep. Corrine Brown about the new surveillance video showing George Zimmerman four hours after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, and what it means for Zimmerman’s side of the story.

>>> newly released police video showing the neighborhood watch volunteer, george zimmerman , on the very night that ended with teen, trayvon martin, dead. this footage shows a handcuffed zimmerman getting out of a patrol car , walking into the sanford police station four hours after the death of a 17-year-old. now, it does not appear to show any of the injuries that zimmerman ‘s defenders claim he received in this life and death struggle. look closely there at the top of his head, because the defenders would say he had a broken nose or deep cuts to the back of his head needing stitches. the video doesn’t capture visible blood or grass stains on the back of his shirt as alleged as well. attorneys for both sides weighing in on what this video does or does not prove. take a listen.

>> there absolutely was some misleading the public when they said his nose was broke and there was blood on the back of his head. there is no blood on his clothes.

>> the video is very grainy. i am not sure it has, as far as being able to see the injuries that were recently sustained and later cleaned up. clearly, if the report shows he was cleaned up before he was taken in the squad car .

>> now, for the very first time, we are hearing from a member of zimmerman ‘s family, his father, doing a television interview and telling a local fox affiliate in orlando that his son’s life was threatened.

>> in doing so, his firearm was shown. trayvon martin said something to the effect of, you are going to die now or you are going to die tonight.

>> a lot of fast-moving developments. joining me now is joey ann read managing editor of the gree yo. she is in sanford , florida. i want to give you a lot of credit for what you have been able to do, breaking details left and right from the very beginning. first, let’s get to the surveillance video people can see for their own eyes. one side saying it proved he was not injure. one saying it is grainy. it is poor quality. it proofs nothing.

>> reporter: thank you, thomas. i really appreciate that. the big problem i think for zimmerman ‘s side is that his supporters, his surrogates and now his father, who i’m sure didn’t see this video before he gave that interview to the fox affiliate, they have described this life and death struggle, almost hand to hand combat between george zimmerman and trayvon martin. when you see four hours or so after the incident, when you see george zimmerman walking under his own power. he gets out of the squad car his hands behind his back, under his own power. he doesn’t look visibly injured. the other issue is blood . you don’t see blood on the person of george zimmerman . if he shot trayvon martin at such close range because he was on top of him literally pinning him down when the gun was fired, where is the blood ? where is the blood from a broken nose ? i have a cousin that boxes. when you break your nose, your nose pours blood . even if you were treated briefly at the scene of the incident, how is he still not having any blood on his body.

>> this video comes on the heels of a ” miami herald ” report that a sanford detective wanted to charge him with manslaughter. you also broke the news that billy, sanford ‘s police chief , was on the scene at the night of trayvon’s shooting.

>> reporter: well, thomas, that’s the other thing that’s strange here. we are talking about a sunday night. something like between 7:30 and 8:00 at night, you have a shooting of assume edly two unknown people. the police chief shows up at the scene of the shooting. the lead investigator, the guy who supervises the other criminal investigators shows up at the scene and the two of them have an in-person consultation at the scene or at the police station with the state attorney who later would get the case. this is a pretty high-level delegation to make a decision about a murder case unless the person is prominent or unless there was an officer involved.

>> just like peeling back the layers of an onion. thegrio.com has been all over this story. check out their website.

>>> you want to bring in congresswoman coryn brown, who has been on outspoken defender for trayvon martin and his family. you were at an eye vent with his parents in washington last night. did you get a chance to speak with them about the surveillance video or the new developments in this case? if so, what’s their reaction?

>> no, i didn’t get a chance to talk with them. i will probably see them sunday at a rally in miami. they are going to have a huge rally i think it is going to be from 4:00 until. i will probably see them sunday. let’s go back to what has happened in sanford , because that’s the area that i represent. i am terribly disappointed as how this case have been handled every step of the way. it has just been the worst disaster for law enforcement that a case have been handled this poorly. you talk about how the shooter was looking but the point is, how come the clothes was not secure, how come the crime scene wasn’t secure. you drug tested young martin but yet you didn’t drug test zimmerman . you didn’t test him for drugs or alcohol. you didn’t give him a lie detector test . you took his word for it. clearly, you know, people have to feel that the criminal justice system is fair and it treats everyone fairly. when i talk to the residents, when i talk to people on the hill, there is a perception that the criminal justice system is not working. that is unacceptable.

>> congresswoman, how does the release of the surveillance footage help or hurt the reported version of events?

>> clearly, there are so many discrepancies. why have you not given him a lie detector test ? that is why i have asked for the justice department to come in and do a thorough independent investigation. we are finding out all of this because of you, the media. we would not know all of this. this would have been just another young black man shot and killed by a self-appointed — i keep hearing that he was the community watchman or something. he was self-appointed, not trained. he had no business getting out the car, no business confronting him. the police department told him to stand down. we on the way. why did he not do that?

>> florida congresswoman, a lot of answers still to come. we will keep at it. congresswoman coryn brown. thanks for your time this morning. we appreciate it.

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