Ambulance called for George Zimmerman canceled, dispatch recordings say

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Sanford, Fla, police car and authorities who responded to the scene of the confrontation between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012

/ CBS/WKMG

(CBS/WKMG) SANFORD, Fla. - Newly released fire rescue dispatch recordings from the night 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed reveal that a second ambulance - presumably to tend to George Zimmerman - was canceled before it arrived at the scene of the shooting.

Photos: Trayvon Martin

A Trayvon Martin family spokesperson says the information in those recordings is just another reason why Zimmerman should be arrested, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.

In the recordings, which were first obtained by the New York Daily News and then shared by the newspaper with the station, rescue workers are heard talking about Zimmerman, just minutes after his family said Martin repeatedly bashed his head into a sidewalk.

"Do they have a second patient?" a person says on the recording. "That's affirmative, there's a second patient."

"You can cancel the second rescue" the rescue worker says," adding that the second patient, Zimmerman, didn't have a gunshot wound.

A spokesman for the lawyers working for the Martin family said that if Zimmerman really had his head repeatedly smashed into the sidewalk during a life and death struggle with Martin, there's "not a chance" the ambulance would have been cancelled.

Complete coverage of the Trayvon Martin case on Crimesider

16 Photos

Fla. teen Trayvon Martin killed by neighborhood watch volunteer

View the Full Gallery »

143 Comments +

Add a Comment

See all 143 Comments


by solorister April 4, 2012 10:42 AM EDT: Police canceled second ambulance because they saw George Zimmerman did not have a broken nose or head trauma of any kind , should have arrested him then and not set him free .Police though it would not get notesed or public .So now all lies and cover up or who to blame .Is FBI investigating the night and are they going to find George Zimmerman was telling truth ,even knowing he lied ?; Reply to this comment


by audemus April 3, 2012 1:33 PM EDT: Unless those people cancelling the second ambulance had medical degrees, and a portable X-Ray machine, there is no way this could be labeled as an informed, educated decision...next.; Reply to this comment

by lloydbest1 April 3, 2012 11:15 AM EDT

The facts are as follows:

1. George Zimmerman, a volunteer watchman in a neighborhood recently prone to break-ins, spotted a young man wandering through it.
2. He 911'd the Sanford police department to report he saw a young black male wearing a hooded sweatshirt and that this kid was acting suspiciously. AND that he was going to follow him.
3. The police department, through dispatch, told him not to follow and to stay in his rig. Additionally, one of the mandates of the neighborhood watch program set up by the police department - and you can verify this yourself by clicking on the SPD website - is you report who, what, where and any other pertinent information then STAY OUT OF THE WAY.
4. Mr. Z ingnored that directive (and, yes, it was a directive) and the watch policy and pursued this man.
5. Zimmerman shot and killed Martin.

There is much more about this case that has been treated as fact but, so far, is not fact.
1. I listened to the original 911 tape (before the SPD website pulled it) and could not distinctly hear Zimmerman refer to the point of interest as a "f***ing c00n". Perhaps he did and if it turns out he did he just aggrivated his case.
2. He shot Treyvon Martin at close range or in the back. So far as I know autopsy results - assuming there even was one - have not been made public. We don't know.
3. The screaming on the tape. I certainly couldn't tell but one expert claims a 48% match for George Zimmerman and further claims that a tape of such poor quality one would need 90% confirmation or better. In any case there is also a 52% chance that it was someone else that was screaming. Those who claim EITHER Martin or Zimmerman were screaming don't know for sure.
4. Mr. Martin told his girlfriend he was going to try to evade Zimmerman; walking away fast was what he told her. Until we get a hold of that phone and retrieve the conversation, we can't say what he said or did.
5. It has been said that Martin "walked between houses" whatever that means. We do not nor can not now know if that was true.
6. Nor can we say Martin stood his ground and attacked Mr. Z. There was one eyewitness that said he did while another one said Martin tried to run away.
7. During the initial interview with the Sanford Police Department, Mr. Zimmerman maks no mention about being confronted by Mr. Martin, let alone being attacked and thrown to the pavement by him. The first hint of any such claim by Zimmerman or his family came three weeks after the fact. Inquiring minds want to know why.
8. Mr. Zimmerman's claims of being severely beaten by Martin don't hold up to any kind of video scrutiny, even the enhanced videos Z's supporters say verify his story.

This is a real mess. But the bottom line is this:
Against orders and his own neighborhood watch policy, Zimmerman took off after a kid who apparently did no more than walk through a neighborhood. Both sides can spin this anyway they want and whatever comes out as incontrovertable objective truth, the moment Zimmerman opened his car door to follow Martin he became the agressor. NO MATTER what happened after that, it is Zimmerman who owns the liability and not Martin. If Martin did, in fact turn on Zimmerman, he was "standing his own" ground and ANYTHING Zimmerman did on his own behalf - other than trying to get away or talk Martin down - is invalid and any attempts at his own defense - again, other than running to a safe place - constitutes, at the very least, misdemeanor assault.

Reply to this comment


by Lindag10 April 3, 2012 12:17 PM EDT: Nice well balanced post, taking all the angry rhetoric out of the discussion. Thank you.

by occupy_cbs April 3, 2012 11:05 AM EDT

"If Zimmerman really had his head repeatedly smashed into the sidewalk during a life and death struggle with Martin, there's not a chance the ambulance would have been cancelled."

Seems as if georgie zimmerman's story oontinues to unravel.

Reply to this comment


by Last_Dominion April 3, 2012 2:10 PM EDT: Incorrect. There was already an ambulance on scene to treat the mortally wounded Trayvon. Obviously, they cleaned up Zimmerman as well, (police footage shows his head wounds cleaned as he entered the station)...so two ambulances were not necessary as Zimmerman could walk, and was not as gravely injured (also he refused further treatment according to police reports). Whoever wrote this hack job of an article is being terribly misleading.


by BMW123BMW April 3, 2012 9:21 AM EDT: Wouldn't both ambulances been cancelled?
Zimmermans neighbor Frank was on TV last night saying that
a dead body is never transported in an ambulance in Florida.
Trayvon was pronounced dead at the scence wasn't he ?; Reply to this comment


by americalove1 April 3, 2012 6:14 AM EDT: George Veritas: "MrsChweik ... to my way of thinking, a dead body and admitted shooter is probable cause for an arrest. He probably could have bailed out, therefore not falsely imprisoned as well."

Did you by any chance read the initial police report? It states that Zimmerman's injuries were consistant with his claim of being attacked by Martin. the report didn't state who was guilty or not. It states, "consistant with."

Check out the facts first.; Reply to this comment

by KansasCity-2012 April 3, 2012 2:50 AM EDT

There are tons of George Zimmermans living here in all around the country. They live live fear and paranoia. They are eager to protect their live and stand up for themselves and others.

The problem is that they are not adequately screened and trained to hold positions of authority and use deadly weapons when appropriate.

Maintaining self control and the capacity for self rescue at all times is essential for survival....and that does go for all the George Zimmermans and Trayvon Martins living around us.

If you want to know how to survive, try using common sense. If you still can't use common sense and can't admit that your errors are costing lives, try admitting you have no faith, and tell the truth before you draw the anger of many around you for a senseless tragedy.

Life beyond a tragedy isn't pretty. Gun ownership is portrayed as glamorous and filled with status, but there is a dark reality.

Even in countries, where the general population has no access to weapons, policemen who use deadly force later live out upsetting lives filled with intrusions of remorse.

If this nation doesn't ever learn to treat life as a sacred thing, then we should not be surprised about what we witness.

We accept our own children learning how to destroy life many different ways by watching it on TV, before we permit them to learn how to create it. That in itself, should give us a clue why we are so paranoid and fearful.

Reply to this comment


by dudley58 April 3, 2012 6:58 AM EDT: Your last paragraph says it all - so very well said.


by kms1978 April 3, 2012 1:52 AM EDT: Just remember, all this is happening in the same state Casey Anthony was just found not guilty. Thank god for the state of Florida, without you we would have nothing to laugh at.; Reply to this comment

by rwsmith29456 April 2, 2012 11:10 PM EDT

I can't wait to get the results of an official investigation. I think Zimmerman's story is based on lies, but unfortunately one of the chief witnesses was killed by Zimmerman so I'm afraid he won't be able to defend himself in court.

Reply to this comment


by booker59 April 3, 2012 8:47 PM EDT: nadelio: To be fair, there's also no factual support for the idea that his father ever got him out of anything. He was essentially a justice of the peace who didn't preside over trials; I think his biggest function was signing off on warrants. It's doubtful he ever had the kind of inluence people are assuming.

by jimatmadison April 2, 2012 9:54 PM EDT

If Zimmermann had had his head beaten against the sidewalk and his nose broken, there's no way the cops would have called off the ambulance. Too much liability.

Zimmermann lied. He's kept right on lying, and he's sent his friends and surrogates onto TV to lie. I'll bet those friends would change their tune if they were under oath and facing perjury charges if they didn't tell the truth.

Reply to this comment


by jimatmadison April 2, 2012 10:40 PM EDT: b-i, you aren't thinking clearly. Supposedly, Zimmerman was treated in the back seat of the squad.

If his head had been repeatedly pounded on the sidewalk, and his nose was broken, EMTs would NOT have let him go to the police station without being seen and treated at an emergency medical facilty.

It simply wouldn't have happened that way if Zimmerman was telling the truth.