George Zimmerman

George Michael Zimmerman (born October 5, 1983) is an American best known for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. On July 13, 2013, his trial for second-degree murder and manslaughter ended in acquittal.

Biography
George Michael Zimmerman was born on October 5, 1983, in Manassas, Virginia, and is the son of Gladys (née Mesa) Zimmerman, who was born in Peru, and Robert Zimmerman, Sr., a retired Virginia magistrate. George was raised as a Catholic, in a family that his father has described as multiracial; his father is a White American of German descent and his mother is Peruvian with some black ancestry through her Afro-Peruvian maternal grandfather. Zimmerman's voter registration record lists him as Hispanic.

Zimmerman and his wife moved to The Retreat at Twin Lakes in 2009.

In early 2011, Zimmerman participated in a citizen forum at the Sanford City Hall, to protest the beating of a black homeless man by the son of a white Sanford police officer. During the meeting, Zimmerman claimed he witnessed "disgusting behavior" while in ride-along program with local police; however the police department said it did not know when, if ever, Zimmerman was in that program.

At the time of the Martin shooting, Zimmerman was employed as an insurance underwriter and was in his final semester at Seminole State College for an associate degree in Criminal Justice.

Trayvon Martin shooting and trial
On February 26, 2012, Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in The Retreat at Twin Lakes community in Sanford, Florida. Martin was a 17-year-old African American high school student. Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community where Martin was temporarily staying and where the shooting occurred. The National Sheriff's Association issued a statement that said that the program in the neighborhood where the altercation between Zimmerman and Martin transpired was not associated with the national organization and that Zimmerman ignored everything the program stands for. Their statement also said that Zimmerman was self-appointed, and it describes the murder of Trayvon as a tragedy. The Twin Lakes Neighborhood Watch program was administered by the local police department. Following an earlier call from Zimmerman, police arrived within two minutes of a gunshot during an altercation in which Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, who did not possess any weapons. Zimmerman was subsequently taken into custody, treated for head injuries, then questioned for five hours. The police chief said that Zimmerman was released because there was no evidence to refute Zimmerman's claim of having acted in self-defense, and that under Florida's Stand Your Ground statute, the police were prohibited by law from making an arrest. The police chief also said that Zimmerman had had a right to defend himself with lethal force. As news of the case spread, thousands of protestors across the country called for Zimmerman's arrest and a full investigation. Six weeks after the shooting, amid widespread, intense, and in some cases misleading media coverage, Zimmerman was charged with murder by a special prosecutor appointed by Governor Rick Scott.

Zimmerman's trial began on June 10, 2013, in Sanford. On July 13, 2013, a jury acquitted Zimmerman of the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Other encounters with police
During and in the wake of national coverage of the trial, some other minor interactions with police were reported. In 2005, Zimmerman was arrested and charged after shoving an "undercover alcohol-control agent" while a friend of Zimmerman's was being arrested for underage drinking. The charges were subsequently dropped when Zimmerman entered a pre-trial diversion program that included anger management classes. Also in 2005, Zimmerman's ex-fiancée filed a restraining order against him, alleging domestic violence. Zimmerman requested a reciprocal restraining order. Both orders were granted. The incidents were raised by prosecutors at Zimmerman's initial bond hearing. The judge described the arrests as "run of the mill;"

On September 9, 2013, in Lake Mary, Florida, police responded to a 911 call by Zimmerman's estranged wife, who reported that Zimmerman had threatened her and her parents with a gun and had punched her father in the face. Zimmerman was briefly detained and questioned by police. His wife refused to press charges and recanted her story, now saying she never saw a gun. No gun was found at the scene. Police were investigating a broken iPad for video to determine if they would press charges, and if they would be against Zimmerman or his wife. Police Chief Steve Bracknell of Lake Mary said that he agrees with an e-mails he received wherein the writer said that Zimmerman is a "Sandy Hook waiting to happen" and a "ticking time bomb". The police chief also said that he would like to revoke Zimmerman's right to possess a concealed weapon, but that he lacks that authority.