Shooter’s claim to police: Trayvon Martin pounced on me
By CHUCK BENNETT
Trayvon Martin was the real aggressor in his deadly encounter with George Zimmerman — punching the neighborhood-watch volunteer, slamming his head on the sidewalk and grabbing for his gun, according to Zimmerman’s account to detectives.
The 28-year-old cop wannabe painted himself as the victim in the fatal brawl, telling investigators he was returning to his SUV and trying to call 911 when the unarmed 17-year-old approached him from behind and threw the first punch, according to published reports.
In the newly revealed account, the watch volunteer claims he was on his way to a grocery store when he first saw Martin walking through his gated Sanford, Fla., community, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
He thought the teen, who was black, looked suspicious, so he called 911 and reported him, telling the dispatcher he had just lost sight of the youth.
Zimmerman, who is of mixed white and Hispanic race, claimed to cops in a written statement that Martin approached him moments later from his left rear and that the two started arguing.
Zimmerman claimed Martin asked if he had a problem, according to the Sentinel and ABC News. He told cops he said no and reached for his cellphone to make another call.
“Well, you do now,” Martin said before slugging Zimmerman, the watchman told police, according to the Sentinel.
The blow sent Zimmerman to the ground. Martin then climbed on top of him and bashed his head into the concrete several times, according to Zimmerman’s account.
Although no witnesses corroborate Zimmerman’s claim that Martin hit first, at least one reported seeing Zimmerman on the ground being beaten.
Others heard a man screaming for help, 911 calls reveal.
Some later identified the man screaming as Zimmerman, though Martin’s family insists the cries came from the teen.
Zimmerman also claimed that Martin tried to grab his pistol, ABC News reported.
Zimmerman shot Martin once in the chest at close range. It was an act of self-defense, he told cops. He has not been charged with any crime.
Responding cops noted in their initial report that Zimmerman had a bloody nose, cuts to the back of his head and grass stains on his back.
The account differs from that of Martin’s girlfriend, who was chatting with him on his cellphone before the encounter.
“Why are you following me?” Martin was heard asking, according to the 16-year-old girl.
She said she heard a man ask, “What are you doing around here?”
Then, she said, she heard a scuffle and the line went dead.
Meanwhile, the Sentinel reported that, at the time of the attack, Martin had been suspended from school in Miami after officials found an empty marijuana baggie on him.
The report outraged the Martin family.
“They killed my son, and now they’re trying to kill his reputation,” his mother, Sybrina Fulton, said, according to the Sentinel.
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