Rod Dreher

The Trayvon-Industrial Complex

Where is Zimmerman’s Blood?

By Rod Dreher • March 28, 2012, 9:54 PM

ABC News has obtained a police security camera video showing a handcuffed George Zimmerman being brought in for questioning after shooting Trayvon Martin. Remember how Zimmerman’s lawyer said his client had a broken nose and a skull laceration from having his face and head pounded by Martin? Look at this video. Zimmerman’s face is a bit blurry, but I see no blood on his face, and not a scratch on his head. This video is not conclusive, but it does not build one’s confidence in George Zimmerman’s case, or, to be more precise, the credibility of his lawyer.

UPDATE: Leo Ladenson points to the police report saying that when officers found Zimmerman, he was “bleeding out of the nose and the back of the head.” And that he received first aid on the scene. It would make sense that he would have been cleaned up during that first aid treatment before being transported to the station. I had not realized these things.

Leo, if, as you say, I’m “blowing hot and cold,” it’s because I don’t feel comfortable yet saying, “Yes, this is what happened, I’m sure of it.” Because I’m not. I’d rather blow hot and cold than take a side based on incomplete information. What seems true emotionally may not at all be what’s actually true.

UPDATE.2: Or, the police who filed the report might have been lying to protect Zimmerman. Possibly.

UPDATE.3: Enhanced photo from the police surveillance tape shows a significant gash on the back of Zimmerman’s head.

71 Responses to Where is Zimmerman’s Blood?

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Franklin Evans says:

March 29, 2012 at 11:13 am

Rush to judgment. That is the subject line of this whole fiasco.

You (general) live in the only country on Earth that guarantees (yeah, in theory more than in practice) innocence until proven guilt, due process clearly and explicitly defined at every step, rules of evidence gathering and presentment at trial, and the right to appeal a guilty sentence.

Guess what? All of that takes time.

I’ll tell you what disgusts me the most. It’s not the act of violence. It’s not the putative and possibly real motivations of racism. It’s not even that a 17-year-old boy was killed. It’s that so many of my fellow citizens, all protected by the very same guarantees I listed (and more), are so ready to stomp on those guarantees for emotional reasons.

I do not wish this on anyone, but it is true: When it should come to pass that you (general or specific) are accused of a crime and you are not afforded one or more of those guarantees, come talk to me. Be prepared for two things: “I told you so” and the barest minimum of sympathy. If you want it for yourself, you must be prepared to bite down hard on your emotional reactions and fight for others to have it as well.
KXB says:

March 29, 2012 at 11:15 am

“How blessed New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and other non-Southern cities are to have racist-free police forces.”

Yeah, it would be a huge mistake to think police misconduct, or plain old incompetence, is unique south of Mason-Dixon.

To get back to the video images – does Zimmerman look like he suffered such a beating to be in genuine fear for his life to justify deadly force. Also, if he shot Martin while tangling with him, why is none of Martin’s blood on him? Unless he shot from further away.

Was Martin a darling little boy? Don’t care, since it really does not matter. We are not in the habit of evaluation the moral character of murder victims. I don’t recall Natale Halloway’s partying habits being the topic of news updates. Is Zimmerman’s alibi (remember, his daddy is a judge) airtight? That is looking increasingly unlikely.
Brett R. says:

March 29, 2012 at 11:21 am

This video is shaping up to be the Zapruder film– and maybe even the Rorschach test– of 2012. Amazing how in our ‘video or it didn’t happen’ world, where everyone carries a film studio in their pockets, video makes everything more murky rather than clear things up.
bones says:

March 29, 2012 at 11:47 am

The lack of blood in the video, even after EMT treatment, ought to raise everyone’s eye brows. Anyone who’s had head/facial injuries (particularly ones incurred during a fight) knows that they bleed a lot, and they bleed everywhere.

The cops would have taken pictures of Zimmerman’s injuries as part of their report. I’m sure these will be eventually produced – unless the defendant’s lawyer truly is talking out of his bung-hole.
c matt says:

March 29, 2012 at 12:21 pm

Head wounds bleed very heavily and are especially noticeable when you’ve got short-shaved hair. And the sight of blood tends to make cops get on their gloves.

Not always. They can, but if no major vein is hit, the bleeding may not be as bad. I have personally experienced a depp cut on the forehead above the eye with little bleeding, even requiring stitching. Yet the bleeding was easliy controlled in about 30 minutes (even went back in to the soccer game).

He claims his head was hit against the ground, so the back of the head may not have hit a vein, or it was clean up, or the hair provided “matting” that masks any blood. Someone said he was treated by EMT at the scene as well, so they would also have records. Not all injuries to the head require hospitalization.

Regardless, there are still not enough facts to draw any definitive conclusions. Rather than blow hot and cold, we should probably not blow at all yet.
Joanna says:

March 29, 2012 at 12:47 pm

Why would police lie….Sigh.
http://www.theagitator.com/2012/03/28/but-for-audio/
Rod Dreher says:

March 29, 2012 at 12:51 pm

Enhancement of frame from police surveillance photo shows significant gash on back of Zimmerman’s head. See here.
Joanna says:

March 29, 2012 at 12:58 pm

Seriously.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/nyregion/fatal-shooting-of-ex-marine-by-white-plains-police-raises-questions.html?_r=1

The man accidently hit his ‘I’ve-fallen’- and- I- can’t- get- up” button.

I’m tired of cops acting like they are a street gang. I wonder if they’re protecting Zimmerman like one of their own.
Sands says:

March 29, 2012 at 1:07 pm

Rod, it doesn’t matter what comes out now. People like Hector have already convicted Zimmerman and the police based on their lifelong geographical stereotypes. If evidence favorable to Zimmerman is produced – then, well, it’s all just fabricated and part of a conspiracy.
Hosono says:

March 29, 2012 at 1:09 pm

Really? That’s the significant gash? No bandage, no continued bleeding? How did this become so partisan? Zimmerman should have a doctor examine him, it would do wonders for his story, unless he’s lying…
JonF says:

March 29, 2012 at 1:23 pm

Re: His nose is bandaged.

Are we looking at the same video? There’s no bandage visible that I can see.
And if his nose is broken why isn’t he breathing through his mouth? Broken noses tend to swell shut.

Also, someone else on another blog asked a pertinent question: where is Travyon Matin’s blood? If Zimmerman really shot him while they were tussling together he should be covered in the kid’s blood and gore. Unless he had a chance to change clothes it looks like he didn’t shoot while the kid was on top of him.
Polichinello says:

March 29, 2012 at 1:30 pm

No, he’s a regular racist, in that he consistently sees situations involving black people as being much more threatening, more dangerous, than the same interactions involving non-blacks.

“”There is nothing more painful for me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery — and then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”–notorious racist Jesse Jackson.

Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/20/magazine/the-color-of-suspicion.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Sands says:

March 29, 2012 at 1:59 pm

“Also, someone else on another blog asked a pertinent question: where is Travyon Matin’s blood? If Zimmerman really shot him while they were tussling together he should be covered in the kid’s blood and gore.”

I’m sorry, but you simply do not know what you’re talking about. Gun shots do not always produce a lot of blood – all the hemorrhaging can occur internally. I’ve seen it first hand on more than one occasion.
Polichinello says:

March 29, 2012 at 2:06 pm

There’s no bandage visible that I can see.

Yeah, I looked at it again. It could be a reflection of light, as Mitchell noted. There should be some hospital records if there was damage.
Siarlys Jenkins says:

March 29, 2012 at 2:47 pm

Chet, you may be right about the level and variety of racism in Zimmerman’s thinking. That is why I used the words “conscious” and “intentional.”

For the most part, we are beyond the days when the average Alabama cop would walk up to a well-dressed doctor with a dark complexion, and abuse him with questions like “What’s your first name boy?” followed up by a lecture suitable to a delinquent ten year old starting “Well, Alvin…” To the extent that has changed, “Dixie cops” is not a helpful reference. Also, read James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk for an example (albeit in a novel) of racism north of the Mason Dixon line.

However, there are plenty of people still living who remember such treatment, and see it, sometimes rightly, in present-day transactions with police, much less neighborhood watch. It is not utterly baseless. The fact that it was, and in some ways still is, perfectly real, can be used manipulatively as a cover for criminal activity, which is why we have so much discussion going on.
KXB says:

March 29, 2012 at 3:04 pm

If his nose was broken, there should be records of follow-up doctor’s visits. Same for any other injuries he may have suffered during this life-endangering fight.
R Hampton says:

March 29, 2012 at 3:08 pm

The one thing that bothers me still is Zimmerman’s claim that Trayvon punched him as he walking back to his truck — and that suggests that Zimmerman had turned his back on Trayvon. So either Trayvon ran around in front of Zimmerman and threw a punch, or Zimmerman wasn’t walking back to his truck like he claimed.

ALSO, from the Washington Post:

“The most prominent piece of misinformation was a photo that alleged to be of Trayvon Martin. The photo showed a shirtless boy in sagging shorts, giving the finger to the camera. It was shared widely on social networks, but the most influential posting was on Twitchy, a Twitter aggregation project by conservative commentator Michelle Malkin. Twitchy later retracted the photo, saying “The photo on the right is not Trayvon Martin.” It is unclear where the photo came from or who is actually shown in the picture — but it is no longer believed to be Martin.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/in-trayvon-martin-case-plenty-of-misinformation/2012/03/28/gIQAxaPhgS_blog.html
Mitchell Young says:

March 29, 2012 at 3:08 pm

["Are we looking at the same video? There’s no bandage visible that I can see."]

Beat you to it, like, right away. It sure does look like his nose is enlarged, if you compare it to other guys noses it is reflecting a lot more light

[And if his nose is broken why isn’t he breathing through his mouth? Broken noses tend to swell shut."]

You can tell how he is breathing from this video?

I can barely make out the large, dark blue against white ‘police’ on the back of the cop car, it is strange how everyone can definitively tell there is no blood (red) on Zimmerman’s jacket (red).

Then again, I’m not sure that’s a gash on Zimmerman’s head either.

Why do I waste my time like this.
Mitchell Young says:

March 29, 2012 at 3:12 pm

“No, he’s a regular racist, in that he consistently sees situations involving black people as being much more threatening, more dangerous, than the same interactions involving non-blacks.”

But statistically they are — at least some such interactions.
EddieInCA says:

March 29, 2012 at 4:23 pm

That is no laceration on his head. A laceration that big on the skull would need stitches and would be bleeding PROFUSELY. There isn’t even a butterfly bandage on that cut, if it’s a cut. No way. No how. That’s a reflection of something. In none of the other angles of his head is there anything resembling a cut or laceration.
Another Matt says:

March 29, 2012 at 5:03 pm

Re: Martin with his gold foiled teeth

That photo is what everyone is getting riled up about? I’ve been trying to find the one that makes him an “obvious thug;” here he just looks like an average kid from the high school I went to.