George Zimmerman sues NBC over edited 911 tape

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

George Zimmerman appears in a Sanford, Fla., court, June 29, 2012

/ AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Joe Burbank

Updated 9:38 PM ET

(CBS/AP) ORLANDO, Fla. - George Zimmerman is suing NBC, claiming he was defamed by the network when it edited his 911 call to police after the shooting of Trayvon Martin to make it sound like Zimmerman was racist.

Pictures: George Zimmerman faces murder charge

The former neighborhood watch volunteer filed the lawsuit seeking an undisclosed amount of money on Thursday in Seminole County, outside Orlando.

The lawsuit claims NBC edited his phone call to a dispatcher last February. In it, Zimmerman describes following Martin in the gated community where he lived, just moments before he fatally shot the 17-year-old teen during a confrontation.

According to a statement on Zimmerman's defense website, the suit alleges that, "NBC News saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy but as an opportunity to increase ratings, and so set about to create the myth that George Zimmerman was a racist and predatory villain."

NBC spokeswoman Kathy Kelly-Brown said the network strongly disagreed with the accusations made in the complaint.

"There was no intent to portray Mr. Zimmerman unfairly," she said. "We intend to vigorously defend our position in court."

Three employees of the network or its Miami affiliate lost their jobs because of the changes.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder but haos pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense under Florida's "stand your ground law."

The call viewers heard was trimmed to suggest that Zimmerman volunteered to police, with no prompting, that Martin was black: "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black."

But the portion of the tape that was deleted had the 911 dispatcher asking Zimmerman if the person who had raised his suspicion was "black, white or Hispanic," to which Zimmerman responded, "He looks black."

Complete coverage of the Trayvon Martin case on CBS News

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by andie52 December 7, 2012 8:07 PM EST: First it was The judge who made statements Zimmy was upset about (after zimmie had tried to hide donation money and a passport) now it's NBC making everyone hate him and he wants his ankle bracelet removed. He's lucky the judge didn't send him back to jail for a much longer time.I'm tired of his whining; Reply to this comment


by michaelamsterdam December 7, 2012 3:26 PM EST: I can't really speculate on lawyer O'Mara's zeal in defense of his trigger-happy, cop-wannabe client...but he is sure as hell passionate about scrounging up money for his fee...and manipulating the media when it suits him...as it apparently does now.

He must know that by the time...if ever...his flimsy case ever reached a courtroom, Zimmie will be the reigning queen of D-Block...yet again!

UNLESS...a media frenzy the likes of the OJ travesty can be whipped up...turning a homicide that would probably have been resolved quickly if the Sanford PD had conducted even a cursory investigation into what was essentially the live guy (the killer) saying it was all the dead guy's (the victim's) fault. With some political pressure added (dare I say it?) LIBERALLY!

Had the authorities done their job, Zimmerman's fixer-father would have been angling for a plea deal the next morning...

But then everything got ratcheted way up...transformed into a national issue...black and white...conservatives (and their various lunatic fringes) as well as liberals (and theirs)...gun-lovers vs. rational people

This case has been artificially inflated into a passionately debated issue that...if it is allowed to emulate the OJ fiasco...will also transcend law, logic, reason and morality, under the fabricated media glare...the one that O'Mara is creating this time...not to prove his client's innocence, but to make emotion, prejudice and outright hatred outweigh presented facts...facts that he will have already labeled as "proof" of a vast government conspiracy aimed at his client...ever the "victim"

He saw an unarmed kid who's looks he didn't like...followed him...a confrontation ensued...and the kid was shot to death and he (Zimmerman) suddenly became the "victim of a "brutal, unprovoked assault?"

GIMME A BREAK!

On the other hand...not too much has been heard from the prosecution. Perhaps they are planning on airing their case in court...as they should be...

Zimmerman and O'Mara's only chance is to contrive a media circus, enflaming deep-rooted attitudes and by widening divisions...in a cynical (but admittedly lucrative) attempt to evade justice for his willful, reckless actions...actions that resulted in an innocent boy's death.

That's the bottom line folks...and no matter how much some of you attempt to impugn Trayvon's character AFTER his killing...to try to justify his killer's actions and to even question the kid's right to be...in a world run by the sorry likes of you

The rest...all the media hoopla......is just a game of misdirection and flim-flam...and quite a bit of panhandling...

Well, everyone should just relax...the game's over...

The black kid lost...; Reply to this comment


by rightontarget December 7, 2012 2:03 PM EST: Oh please..... ! Guess Zimmerman's defense fund website isn't getting enough donations! He's an idiot, Billy Badazz, cop wannabe who should rot in jail, period.; Reply to this comment


by Bojax39 December 7, 2012 11:54 AM EST: Media companies deserve litigation when they go out of their way to slant or outright falsify the news. In this case NBC slanted things in such a way that guilt was presumed without recourse to solid sources, while public evidence was edited to show something other than the facts. Such manipulation deserves punishment.

Agree with Zimmerman or not, he is deserving of the same fair trial any of us would demand of our justice system and this NBC fiasco made it all the more difficult for him to get one.; Reply to this comment


by jeffinpa1234 December 7, 2012 10:38 AM EST: Take NBC to task on this George and hope you win big! 3 peoploe fired over the incident menas that even NBC realized the screwed up BIG!; Reply to this comment


by workerdroid December 7, 2012 10:09 AM EST: What, the media manipulates the truth so as to gain an edge in the completitive world of selling news? I'm shocked, I tell you. Shocked.; Reply to this comment


by maryderricotte62 December 7, 2012 9:35 AM EST: Zimmerman an't got a leg to stand on and good let all the racist put there money where their mouth is . Pay ole George your pay check and then go to church and pray for him.; Reply to this comment


by johnlockesghost December 7, 2012 9:35 AM EST: NBC has been caught in the act of manufacturing the news by editing out information about an event so as to bend the event to their agenda. By doing so, they turn the truth into a lie.; Reply to this comment

by moonglowsun December 7, 2012 9:30 AM EST

I find this quite amusing. Zimmerman IS a racist now attempting to soften his most despicable action. Had Trayvon been white, we would NOT be having this conversation, and Trayvon would still be walking this earth. Zimmerman had a history of aggressive behavior than pre-existed the evening of this incident. Straws, smoke and mirrors designed to divert attention from the fact that he was advised to NOT pursue and yet he ignored their directive. Let us also keep in mind, he was not a true neighborhood watchman, he volunteered his service which is code for he had no authority to be doing what he did.

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by Rod_Smith December 7, 2012 1:10 PM EST: I wasn't aware that a "true neighborhood watchman" was a paid position. Btw, following someone is not a crime, regardless of what advice was given by a dispatcher (who is not a law enforcement officer). However, beating someone bloody is a crime and a valid reason for the victim of said beating to defend himself, with deadly force if necessary.


by jmn122736 December 7, 2012 8:59 AM EST: Anyone who thinks racial bigotry is gone in America is really fooling him/her self.

Racially bigoted Obama haters are using this issue/article to further insult/attack the president.

In an effort to show Americans just how this sort of unprovoked and aggressive behavior could well have involved the death of their own children, President Obama said that Martin could have been his son, and in that instance, Trayvon could have been ANYONE's son, and the only reason anyone might think otherwise would be because, in this instance, the victim was black.; Reply to this comment