Zimmerman in police custody (Sanford Police Dept.)
A partially redacted police report detailing the initial investigation in the Feb. 26 shooting death of Trayvon Martin has surfaced.
Reuters reporter Matthew Keys first posted scanned copies of the report to his Twitter account. As the Chicago Tribune noted, the report contains details that conflict with several rumors surrounding the case.
The report states that George Zimmerman's gun "was placed into evidence" and not returned to him, and the scene of the shooting was secured with crime scene tape. This directly conflicts with statements made by civil rights activists, including Rev. Jesse Jackson, who had claimed the Sanford, Fla., police department "didn't even bother to put yellow tape around the murder scene when he died—that's how much the police did to find out what happened to this young boy."
After officers discovered Martin's body, the report states that they unsuccessfully attempted to revive him.
According to the report, Sanford police spent more than seven hours at the scene. They interviewed six witnesses, whose names were redacted from the report. The partial report contains information from the first two officers to arrive at the scene.
The first to arrive was officer Timothy Smith. From Smith's report:
"While I was in such close contact with Zimmerman, I could observe that his back appeared to be wet and was covered in grass, as if he had been laying on his back on the ground. Zimmerman was also bleeding from the nose and back of his head."
"Zimmerman was placed in the rear of my police vehicle and was given first aid by the SFD. While the SF was attending to Zimmerman, I overheard him state, 'I was yelling for someone to help me, but no one would help me.' At no point did I question Zimmerman about the incident that had taken place."
From officer Ricardo Ayala, the second to arrive:
"I attempted to get a response from the black male, but was met with negative results. At that time, Sgt. Raimondo arrived and attempted to get a pulse from the black male but none was found. At that time, Sgt. Raimondo and I turned the black male over and began CPR. Sgt. Raimondo did breaths and I did chest compressions."
"Sgt. McCoy arrived and relieved me continuing compressions. Sanford Fire Rescue arrived on scene and attempted to revive the subject but could not. Paramedic Brady pronounced the subject deceased at 1930 hours."
"The scene was then secured with crime scene tape by Ofc. Mead and Ofc. Wagner. Ofc. Robertson began a crime scene contamination log. Lt. Taylor arrived on scene and notified dispatch to have Major Crimes responds to the scene."
"Ofc. Mead and Ofc. Wagner were able to make contact with neighbors in the area. They were able to obtain statements from all witnesses on scene."
"The scene was turned over to SPD Major Crimes."
The report lists Martin's height as 6'0" and weight as 160 pounds; the 5'9" Zimmerman's weight is not listed.
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