1. Zimmerman called the police to report Martins suspicious behavior, which he described as just walking around looking about. Zimmerman was in his car when he saw Martin walking on the street. He called the police and said: Theres a real suspicious guy. This guy looks like hes up to no good, on drugs or something. Its raining and hes just walking around looking about
These a**holes always get away [Orlando Sentinel]
2. Zimmerman pursued Martin against the explicit instructions of the police dispatcher:
Dispatcher: Are you following him?
Zimmerman: Yeah
Dispatcher: OK, we dont need you to do that.
[Orlando Sentinel]
3. Prior to the release of the 911 tapes, Zimmermans father released a statement claiming [a]t no time did George follow or confront Mr. Martin. [Sun Sentinel]
4. Zimmerman was carrying a a 9 millimeter handgun. Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. [ABC News]
5. Martin weighed 140 pounds. Zimmerman weighs 250 pounds. [Orlando Sentinel; WDBO]
6. Martins English teacher described him as as an A and B student who majored in cheerfulness. [Orlando Sentinel]
7. Martin had no criminal record. [New York Times]
8. Zimmerman was charged in July 2005 with resisting arrest with violence and battery on an officer. The charges appear to have been dropped. [Huffington Post]
9. Zimmerman called the police 46 times since Jan. 1, 2011. [Miami Herald]
10. According to neighbors, Zimmerman was fixated on crime and focused on young, black males. [Miami Herald]
11. Zimmerman had been the subject of complaints by neighbors in his gated community for aggressive tactics [Huffington Post]
12. A police officer corrected a key witness. The officer told the witness, a long-time teacher, it was Zimmerman who cried for help, said the witness. ABC News has spoken to the teacher and she confirmed that the officer corrected her when she said she heard the teenager shout for help. [ABC News]
13. Three witnesses say they heard a boy cry for help before a shot was fired. Three witnesses contacted by The Miami Herald say they saw or heard the moments before and after the Miami Gardens teenagers killing. All three said they heard the last howl for help from a despondent boy. [Miami Herald]
14. The officer in charge of the crime scene also received criticism in 2010 when he initially failed to arrest a lieutenants son who was videotaped attacking a homeless black man. [New York Times]
15. The police did not test Zimmerman for drugs or alcohol. A law enforcement expert told ABC that Zimmerman sounds intoxicated on the 911 tapes. Drug and alcohol testing is standard procedure in most homicide investigations. [ABC News]
16. In a cell phone call moments before his death, Martin told a teenage girl that he was hounded by a strange man on a cellphone who ran after him, cornered him and confronted him. He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man, Martins friend said. I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to run. Eventually he would run, said the girl, thinking that hed managed to escape. But suddenly the strange man was back, cornering Martin. Trayvon said, What, are you following me for, and the man said, What are you doing here. [ABC News]
17. Police have Trayvon Martins cell phone but never contact his girlfriend.[Miami Herald]
18. Zimmerman told the police he had stepped out of his truck to check the name of the street he was on when Trayvon attacked him from behind as he walked back to his truck. He said he feared for his life and fired the semiautomatic handgun he was licensed to carry because he feared for his life. [Miami Herald]
19. The incident occurred in a tiny gated community Zimmerman patrolled regularly. [Miami Herald]
20. Zimmerman was not a member of a registered Neighborhood Watch group. Zimmerman also violated basic Neighborhood Watch guidelines by carrying a weapon. [ABC News]
21. The police reports were amended to bolster Zimmermans claim of self defense. Initial police reports never mentioned that Zimmerman had a bloody nose or a wet shirt that showed evidence of a struggle. [Miami Herald]
22. Police ignored witness whose account was different from Zimmermans.One of the witnesses who heard the crying said she called a detective repeatedly, but said he was not interested because her account differed from Zimmermans. [Miami Herald]
23. Zimmerman still has a permit to carry a concealed weapon in the State of Florida. [ThinkProgress]