I’ve been watching the George Zimmerman trial this morning, and we’ve finally got some testimony from George Zimmerman. He didn’t take the stand, but an audio recording of his initial interview at the police station was played, and his written statement was read aloud. There are some serious problems with both. I will have to do some work with maps to figure it all out, but I will attempt to describe the problem.
Here’s a basic map of the neighborhood.
If you’ve listened to the phone call Zimmerman made to the non-emergency number, you know that he got out of his car (he claims, to find an address to give to the police) and the dispatcher told him that he didn’t need to follow the “suspect.” But that doesn’t correspond to what he said in his initial interview.
If you look at the part of the map at the top where it says “North Gate,” you can see the entrance to The Retreat at Twin Lakes. Now, here’s how Zimmerman told the dispatcher that the police could find him.
Zimmerman: OK. These assholes. They always get away.
When you come to the clubhouse, you come straight in and you go left. Actually, you would go past the clubhouse. [1:39]
911 dispatcher: OK, so it’s on the left hand side of the clubhouse?
Zimmerman: Yeah. You go in straight through the entrance and then you would go left. You go straight in, don’t turn and make a left.
He’s running. [2:08]
911 dispatcher: He’s running? Which way is he running?
Zimmerman: Down toward the other entrance of the neighborhood.
And then a little later in the conversation we hear this:
911 dispatcher: Alright, George, we do have them on the way. Do you want to meet with the officer when they get out there?
Zimmerman: Yeah.
911 dispatcher: Alright, where are you going to meet with them at?
Zimmerman: Um, if they come in through the gate, tell them to go straight past the clubhouse and, uh, straight past the clubhouse and make a left and then go past the mailboxes you’ll see my truck.
Now, if you drive your car through the North Gate and make an immediate left-hand turn, then you will wind up on Retreat View Circle. That is not where Zimmerman was. That’s why he corrected himself and said, “You go straight in, don’t turn and make a left. To make this even more clear, you need to know that the clubhouse is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Twin Trees Lane and Retreat View Circle, so if you were driving through the North Gate, it would be in front of you on the right. If you followed Zimmerman’s instructions, you would come in the gate, cross over Retreat View Circle, continue on Twin Trees Lane past the clubhouse, and
