Trayvon Martin Shooting Targets Were ‘No-Shoot’ Tools, Fired Cop Says

(PORT CANAVERAL, Fla.) -- A Port Canaveral, Fla., Port Authority police officer who was fired for bringing shooting targets bearing a likeness of Trayvon Martin to a weapons training session said in a video posted online that his intentions for how the targets were to be used have been misunderstood.

“I would like to start my statement by first apologizing to the family of Trayvon Martin for being used as a pawn in somebody’s political agenda,” Sgt. Ron King said in a video posted on YouTube.

King confirmed to ABC News that he is the man in the video.

King, who had been with the department since January 2011, was fired Thursday, authorities said.

Port Canaveral Port Authority CEO John Walsh said that on April 4, when two fellow cops discovered King intended to use the Trayvon Martin shooting targets in their weapons exercise, they told the sergeant “they didn’t think it was appropriate.” The next day, Walsh said, the officers informed the Port Authority police chief, who called in internal affairs.

In the YouTube video, King said he had no intention of using the targets for target practice, instead, he said he viewed the targets as a training tool for “a no-shoot situation.”

“As a result of last year’s Trayvon Martin shooting, a company offered for sale a target of a faceless silhouette wearing a hoodie with his hands in his pockets, one of which was holding two objects, these objects in the hand were non-threatening and the target was something that I viewed as a no-shoot situation,” he said.

“While others used it as a novelty, I view it as a tool for scenario based firearms training. Although to date, the targets have never been used, I did possess the targets for those training reasons,” he said.

The incident comes two months before the scheduled start of the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who told police he followed Martin because the teen was acting suspiciously.  Zimmerman later told police he shot Martin in self-defense after the 17-year-old punched him in the face, knocked him down and began slamming his head into the pavement. Martin was unarmed.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Trayvon Martin's Parents Hold Vigil on Anniversary of His Death

Mario Tama/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The parents of Trayvon Martin are asking people to mark the one year anniversary of the teenager's death by wearing hoodies during a candlelight vigil Tuesday night.

Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, the teenager's parents, and their lawyers will be hosting a Million Hoodies Candlelight Vigil in New York's Union Square.  They are asking supporters to join them "for a moment of silence in honor of Trayvon Martin and all victims of senseless gun violence."

Communities around the country are expected to host similar events Tuesday night.

Trayvon, 17, was shot and killed while walking home unarmed on Feb. 26, 2012 in Sanford, Fla., from a deli near his father's fiancee's house.

George Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watch captain, has claimed the unarmed teen was acting suspicious and that he shot the teenager during a fight when Trayvon tried to get Zimmerman's gun.

Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty.  A central part of his defense, his lawyer has said, will be Florida's Stand Your Ground law.

Earlier this month, Zimmerman's attorneys were denied a request to delay his murder trial, which is scheduled to begin in June.

The case ignited a national debate on gun control, race and Stand Your Ground laws.

Florida's Stand Your Ground law grants immunity to anyone who uses deadly force, inside or outside his home, if he can reasonably claim he was defending himself.  Florida passed the law in 2005 and there are 32 states with similar laws.

Some lawmakers and civil rights groups are in an ongoing fight to have the laws repealed or changed, but so far, none of them have been repealed.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Perjury Count Stands Against George Zimmerman's Wife

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel-Pool/Getty Image(SANFORD, Fla.) -- A judge in Sanford, Fla., ruled on Tuesday that the wife of the neighborhood watch captain accused of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin one year ago can be tried for perjury.

Shellie Zimmerman, who is married to George Zimmerman, was previously charged with allegedly lying to the court about the couple's finances and Circuit Judge Marlene Alva refused to dismiss the perjury count.

Last April, Shellie Zimmerman said she and her spouse were destitute although their financial records showed they had at least $130,000 on hand for a defense fund made possible by outside contributors.

Phone records also revealed George Zimmerman telling his wife from his jail cell where to deposit the funds.

Shellie Zimmerman has been living in seclusion with her husband, who is out on bail, because of death threats made against him.  Her lawyer predicted she would be acquitted of perjury.

Prosecutors maintain that George Zimmerman gunned down the unarmed Martin during a scuffle while the defendant's attorneys say he shot the 17-year-old in self-defense.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

George Zimmerman Sues NBC for Portraying Him as a 'Racist and Predatory Villain'

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- George Zimmerman, the man facing second-degree murder charges in one of the most racially charged and controversial cases in recent memory, is seeking damages against NBC for portraying him as a "racist and predatory villain."

The suit, filed Thursday afternoon, claims, "NBC saw the death of Trayvon Martin not as a tragedy, but as an opportunity to increase ratings."

An NBC News spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The suit claims the network pounced on the story in large part to help aid the ailing ratings of its morning program, the Today show. It centers around "manipulated" exchanges between George Zimmerman and a non-emergency dispatcher shortly before unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. The audio aired a few times on several NBC platforms beginning March 19.

The suit blames NBC in large part for the media frenzy surrounding the case and hostilities against Zimmerman.

The suit points out two versions of the exchanges that aired beginning on March 19 for more than a week that they say the network manipulated to "create the misleading impression that Zimmerman was suspicious of Martin's conduct because he is a black male."

In audio aired March 19, according to the suit, Zimmerman describes Martin and his race before he actually brought it up. Here is part of that exchange, according to the lawsuit:

Zimmerman: There is a real suspicious guy. Ah, this guy looks like he is up to no good or he is on drugs or something. He looks black.
Dispatcher: Are you following him?
Zimmerman: Yeah.
Dispatcher: OK we don't need you to do that.
Zimmerman: OK.

On March 20, according to the suit, NBC aired a different exchange, not only leaving out Zimmerman's response acknowledging the request to stop following the unarmed teen but again inserting comments Zimmerman made about Martin's race before he was asked. Here is the suit's representation of part of that exchange:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he's up to no good or on drugs or something. He's got his hand in his waistband. And he's a black male.
Dispatcher: Are you following him?
Zimmerman: Yeah.
Dispatcher: OK, we don't need you to do that.

The suit claims the "manipulations" changed the perception of the conversations and that NBC repeatedly ran versions of the altered exchange until other media outlets picked up on it.

By then, the suit claims, the "damage was done and the indelible image of Zimmerman stalking Martin because 'he looks black' fixed in the public consciousness."

At the time, after the discovery was made, NBC News President Steve Capus called the incident a "mistake."

At least two NBC employees were fired as a result.

Zimmerman is seeking unspecified damages against the network but is asking for enough to "effectively punish the Defendants [NBC] for their conduct and deter them and others similarly situated from similar acts in the future."

The suit also points out the role of the Rev. Al Sharpton, a commentator for MSNBC who was also organizing rallies for Trayvon Martin as he broadcast from the town where the shooting occurred, Sanford, Fla., on behalf of NBC.

In a just-released statement on Zimmerman's defense site, gzlegalcase.com, Zimmerman writes, "What happened that night was a tragedy: a tragedy that NBC exploited creating an opportunity for profit....This lawsuit is a product of NBC's intentional distortion of facts. I do not know, because of my situation, how I will be able to provide for my wife and myself in the future so I expect NBC to be held responsible."

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

George Zimmerman Lawyers Say Bloody Nose Photo Creates Doubt

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel-Pool/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Lawyers for George Zimmerman believe that a newly released color photo of injuries their client sustained during his fatal altercation with Trayvon Martin and a subsequent conversation involving Martin’s father create doubts about the strength of the murder case against the former neighborhood watch captain.

The color photo, which was released months ago in black-and-white form, shows Zimmerman’s swollen and bruised nose with blood dripping down his mouth.  The image was released on the Zimmerman defense website, gzlegalcase.com.  His attorneys released the image publicly on Monday, along with a separate motion asking Sanford, Fla., police investigator William Irwin to take another deposition because of comments he made that came to their attention after his first deposition.

Zimmerman’s attorneys say in the document that they learned after initially taking Irwin’s deposition that he told Sanford police Captain Robert O’Connor about overhearing a potentially damaging conversation between Martin’s father and lead investigator Chris Serino.

In the alleged conversation, Irwin, who took the voice stress test on Zimmerman after his deadly confrontation with Martin, said he heard the unarmed teen’s father, tell Serino that the still unidentified screams in those now-infamous calls did not belong to his son.

In the stress-test and throughout various interrogations, Zimmerman maintained that he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Martin because he believed the teen, who he says attacked him, was going to cause severe bodily injury to him if he did not do something.  Zimmerman maintains that he was screaming for help, and shot Martin, 17, only after being repeatedly pummeled by the teen, who was walking back to his father’s girlfriend's home from 7-Eleven after buying Skittles and tea.

Zimmerman’s attorneys call the conversation in the motion “significant,” saying “the primary issue in this case, if not the sole issue to be decided either by this court at a Self Defense Immunity hearing or by a jury at trial is whether Zimmerman was acting in self-defense.”

The elder Martin has disputed this police account in the past with both he and the teenager’s mother saying that they believed the cries for help belonged to their son, and any misstatements happened during the early confusion of not knowing what happened to their son.

Audio test of the screams on the 911 call, which was placed by a neighbor near the scene, have not conclusively linked the cry for help to either Zimmerman or Martin, casting another layer of doubt in this story.

This latest information was released as Zimmerman’s defense continues to gather evidence it will use in a “Stand-Your-Ground” self-defense hearing next year that, if the court sides with Zimmerman, could mean he never actually goes to trial for second-degree murder, as charged.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Trayvon Martin's School Records to Be Given to Zimmerman Team

ABC News(SANFORD, Fla.) -- Trayvon Martin's school records and social media profiles will be turned over to the defense team of George Zimmerman, ahead of Zimmerman's murder trial, a judge ruled.

Judge Debra Nelson ruled Friday that the academic, attendance and disciplinary records, along with the 17-year-old's Twitter and Facebook accounts, would be made available to Zimmerman's attorneys. The information could become public if Zimmerman's attorneys use it at trial.

Martin was shot and killed while walking home unarmed on Feb. 26, 2012, from a deli near his father's fiancee's house. He was serving a 10-day suspension from school at the time of his shooting.

Zimmerman has said that he shot Martin in self-defense, and has claimed the Stand Your Ground law as his defense. The details of the confrontation between Martin and Zimmerman will likely be a key part of Zimmerman's trial.

Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, argued ahead of the hearing that their son's school records were irrelevant to the case and should be not given to the defense team.

"First I'd like to say that Trayvon was the victim," Tracy Martin said. "As human beings, our first priority shouldn't be to assassinate the character of the victims and make it seem as though they're the perpetrator."

"We just think it's terrible precedent to set that a dead child's records are now berated by his murderer as justification for his killing," said Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Martin's parents. "This is a slippery slope."

Nelson also ruled that Zimmerman's medical records for the month leading up the shooting would be made available to prosecutors.

In records released by prosecutors earlier this year, Zimmerman was shown to have taken medications on the night of the murder including Librax and Temazapam, which treat digestive problems, anxiety and sleeplessness.

Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, also released records showing that Zimmerman took Adderall, which treats attention disorders, and Omeprazole, which treats digestive problems.

"If the court sees fit to release Trayvon's confidential school records, then we demand the release of George Zimmerman's medical records. They are far more relevant as to why he shot and killed Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26," said Crump.

During the press conference before the hearing, Martin's parents also touted their newly-created organization, Change for Trayvon, which aims to change Stand Your Ground laws in 32 states around the country. The law, which Zimmerman has evoked in Travyon's killing, allows individuals to shoot someone if they feel threatened without first having to try to escape the situation.

"I hope you all have not forgotten about my son because I certainly have not forgotten about him," Sybrina Martin said. "It is important to remember Trayvon was a minor. He had just turned 17 years old. He was just a kid up against a grown adult, so it's very difficult. That's the reason we have created the Change for Trayvon committee, to draft legislation that we can take to legislators so they can support us."

Martin's parents launched a website, ChangeforTrayvon.com, on Tuesday. They are asking for donations to help raise awareness about the law and said all contributions will go directly to elected officials, campaigns and candidates who advocate for changes to existing legislation.

"Trayvon is dead, and there's nothing we can do to bring him back," Tracy Martin said. "I ask that mothers, daughters, sons, fathers, brothers and uncles, I ask you to join us in our efforts in becoming ambassadors, becoming spokespersons for Change for Trayvon. We feel as though together we can make a difference."

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Trayvon Martin's Parents Seek Changes to 'Stand Your Ground' Laws

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Image(SANFORD, Fla.) -- The parents of Trayvon Martin have launched a campaign to change the "stand your ground" law being used as a defense by the man who killed their son in February.

Trayvon Martin was unarmed when he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a Sanford, Fla., neighborhood watch volunteer who said he killed the 17-year-old on lawful grounds. The law allows people to use force in self-defense when they perceive a threat without first having to try to flee the threat.

Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton filmed a video for their new website, ChangeforTrayvon.com, in which they call the "stand your ground" laws a "solution in search of a problem."

"This year we joined over 30,000 mothers and fathers who lost their children to gun violence when our 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, was taken in a senseless tragedy," Tracy Martin said in the video. "These laws allow individuals to shoot first and ask questions later."

"Something has to change," Sybrina Fulton said.

The divorced couple created the site specifically to address policy issues by raising awareness of the 32 states where "stand your ground" Laws apply, donating money to elected officials or candidates who promise to work to change them, and campaigning to overhaul the laws to increase judicial or prosecutorial oversight of "stand your ground" claims, according to the website.

As it stands, accused shooters can ask that their charges be dismissed by a judge before trial on the "stand your ground"  law. Zimmerman's attorneys are seeking a "stand your ground" hearing in his defense.

"Most of the legislators who voted for SYG laws will admit that they never thought SYG would be used as it is being applied," the family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, wrote on the new website. "SYG Laws are now being used by the aggressors and agitators. I even had a case where an individual shot his victim in the back and claimed he was 'Standing His Ground.'"

The Martin family pointed out that no member of their family, nor their attorneys' families, would benefit from any donations, which would be used only to further the cause. The effort is separate from the Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation, a non-profit group the family created in the wake of Martin's death that sought donations to help raise awareness of racial profiling and assist families of violent crime victims.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Gets Judge Removed

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel-Pool/Getty Images(DAYTONA, Fla.) -- A Florida appeals court Wednesday ordered Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. to disqualify himself in George Zimmerman’s trial for the alleged murder of Trayvon Martin.

The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Daytona, Fla., voted 2-1 that Lester should be disqualified. Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, had appealed to the court in early July for Lester to be removed.

His motion to disqualify the judge came in response to Lester’s order setting Zimmerman’s bail at $1 million. In it Lester wrote that  Zimmerman had “flaunted the system” and practiced “deception upon the court” after it was revealed that Zimmerman and his wife Shellie had not told the court he had two passports and tried to hide the amount of money their defense fund had raised. They were also accused of speaking in code in reference to their assets.

In a 17-page document O’Mara accused Lester of having a bias against Zimmerman, writing that “the court made gratuitous, disparaging remarks about Mr. Zimmerman’s character, advocated for Mr. Zimmerman to be prosecuted for additional crimes; offers a personal opinion about the evidence for said prosecution; and continues to hold over Mr. Zimmerman’s head the threat of future contempt proceedings.”

Fifth District Court Judges C. Alan Lawson and Jay P. Cohen concurred that O’Mara’s motion was “legally sufficient” in describing his fear that Zimmerman could not get a fair and impartial trial. The third judge, Kerry I. Evander, dissented, writing that he “didn’t believe the order ‘crossed the line’ so as to require the granting of his motion.”

The Office of the Florida Attorney General argued that there was no evidence to suggest that Lester would not give a fair trial, writing that “the judge was simply giving Petitioner a well deserved tongue lashing for allowing others to mislead the court about his passport and his financial situation.”

A spokesman told ABC News that the Attorney General’s Office would not appeal the decision. The Office of Angela Corey, the special prosecutor on the case, had no comment.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for the killing of teenager Trayvon Martin. He is out on bail awaiting trial, and will next appear in court in October for a regularly scheduled docket hearing.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

George Zimmerman's Parents Decry Threats on Website

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel-Pool/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- A week after George Zimmerman rolled out a revamped website, his parents have unveiled their own website, describing in voluminous detail the upheaval and death threats suffered by three generations of the family after their son, 28, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, 17, on Feb. 26.

Zimmerman's website, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, is an open appeal for donations to help pay for his legal fees, security and living expenses, and a forum to try to offer an unfiltered account of who George Zimmerman is.

His parents' site, robertandgladys.com, aims to counter the way their son has been "savagely portrayed in the media," and has a tab asking for contributions to their "greatly increased living expenses."

What follows is a painstaking detailed history of the family -- from Robert and Gladys Zimmerman's courtship in the late 1970s to the frenzied days after the shooting.

In his missive, Robert Zimmerman describes a barrage of threatening calls, the media "beating down our door" and death threats.

The worst came, he writes, after Rosanne Barr published the family's address and phone numbers.

"Almost immediately, threatening phone calls and letters were received," he writes.  "However, one in particular was alarming because it threatened to kill anyone with George's DNA -- it was not mailed, but was left at our front door."

The family fled, taking only key medicine and a few articles of clothing each, Robert Zimmerman writes, describing their unhappy, itinerant lifestyle.

"It's been a challenge getting hotel rooms when we cannot provide our correct names, use credit cards or produce any valid identification," he writes.  "Today, that is very much what our existence is. ... There have been other severe hardships.  However, for security reasons, these cannot be mentioned at this time."

The family roamed from hotel to hotel, George Zimmerman's sister had to quit her government job and, writes Robert Zimmerman, he and his mother-in-law had to end their physical therapy.

On multiple occasions, the 3,000-word letter points out that George Zimmerman is not a racist.

Robert Zimmerman writes that his son grew up with black children in his house -- and George Zimmerman's grandmother babysat for them.

It also mentions that George Zimmerman insisted on mentoring two young black children.

"When George's mother ask why he had to travel to such a dangerous area to mentor children, George's reply was 'Mom, I really love these kids and if I don't go, they won't have anyone,'" Robert Zimmerman writes.  "To this day, George is very saddened that he will most likely never see these children again."

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

George Zimmerman Prosecution May Use TV Interview as Evidence

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel-Pool/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- George Zimmerman's television interview in which he said he had few regrets about the night he killed teenager Trayvon Martin has been entered as possible evidence in his upcoming murder trial.

In a wide ranging interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Zimmerman, appearing articulate and calm, said he neither regretted carrying a gun that night nor pursuing the 17-year-old Martin.

"I feel that it was all God's plan," he told Hannity. When asked if there was "anything you might do differently," Zimmerman responded, "No Sir."

Thursday morning the prosecution entered the tape of the interview into discovery and could attempt to admit it as evidence in Zimmerman's trial on charges of second degree murder.

Zimmerman, 28, has maintained that he shot Martin in self-defense after Martin attacked him in Sanford, Fla., on the night of Feb. 26.

Towards the end of the interview, following commercial break, Zimmerman pivoted towards the camera and addressed it directly, saying he misunderstood Hannity's earlier question about whether he had any regrets that night.

"I do wish that there was something, anything I could have done that would have put me in the position that I wouldn't have to take his life," he said.

Granting the interview will likely haunt Zimmerman, veteran legal analyst and defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh told ABC News. "He has impeached himself publicly, this is going to be a huge problem for him …  and the prosecutors must be extremely pleased. ... He was making inconsistent statements that they can use in a trial against him."

And some are now questioning whether Zimmerman has begun disregarding his attorney's advice.

After his interview with Hannity Thursday, Zimmerman abruptly cancelled an interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters, which his attorney Mark O'Mara had set up.

Walters said on The View Thursday that she arrived to do the interview Wednesday and found a "stubborn" Zimmerman dressed in a T-shirt and demanding certain conditions from her that she was unwilling to agree to. Walters would not specify what Zimmerman asked for in exchange for the interview, but said that she would never agree to it.

She noted that Zimmerman's attorney had promised her an interview earlier in the week and said Thursday that O'Mara "wanted him to do the interview."

Walters said that it was Zimmerman who reneged on the promise after she flew down to Orlando for the appointment. She said that Zimmerman told her during their conversations that he was in "desperate" need of money, as he had apparently already spent the bulk of the more than $200,000 raised through donations since April.

Minutes after Walters' discussion of Zimmerman on The View, Zimmerman made a surprise phone call to the studio and asked to be put on the air via phone. Walters declined Zimmerman's request and said on air, "Mr. Zimmerman, if you could not do the interview yesterday, I don't think we should do a quick one today. In the future if you feel differently, we will consider it."

Zimmerman also decided to reactivate his fundraising website, TheRealGeorgeZimmerman.com in order to raise more money. He created the website in April without telling his attorneys at the time, but later took it down after hiring O'Mara as his lawyer.

A representative for O'Mara said that the attorney had acquiesced to Zimmerman's request to re-launch the website over which Zimmerman would be granted editorial control. It would be primarily used to solicit donations.

Zimmerman has been described as "erratic" and difficult by his former attorneys, who quit after saying that Zimmerman would not listen to their advice.

Attorneys Craig Sonner and Hal Uhrig said in April that they were withdrawing from the case because they had lost contact with Zimmerman, who refused to answer their calls, texts and emails. Sonner said that Zimmerman had independently been talking to Hannity and calling the Florida State Attorney Angela Corey against his advice.

Zimmerman turned himself into authorities shortly after his attorneys quit, and was subsequently charged. He is now represented by O'Mara.

O'Mara did not return calls for comment.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio