Zimmerman police video in Trayvon case raises questions

Zimmerman police video in Trayvon case raises questions

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Forensic experts say newly released video by police of the man who shot Trayvon Martin raises more questions than it answers but that's not stopping droves of amateur sleuths on TV, Twitter and Facebook from scrutinizing it anyway.

"I think the public should not draw any conclusions from this at all," said Grant Fredericks, a former police officer who headed the forensic video unit for the Vancouver Police Department.

The video should be just a fraction of the evidence available to pol ice as they investigate Zimmerman's claim that he shot and killed Martin, 17, after the teenager punched him in the nose, pushed him to the ground and slammed his head against the pavement, Fredericks said.

The Feb. 26 shooting in Sanford, Fla., has brought national attention because of Trayvon's family's claims that Zimmerman killed the unarmed youth after racially stereotyping. Trayvon is black; Zimmerman is described by police as white and his family says he is Hispanic.

The police security camera video shows Zimmerman exiting a patrol car and entering the Sanford Police Department. It begins at 7:52 p.m., about 35 minutes after the fatal shooting. Shots of Zimmerman's head and face reveal no obvious cuts or gashes, but at one point a police officer inspects the back of his head.

The public weighed in on social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Many people expr essed disbelief at Zimmerman's claim that Trayvon attacked him and he fired his gun in self defense, and pointed to the grainy video as proof.

The video available to the public is highly compressed, which degrades the images, and is distorted, which makes Zimmerman appear thinner, Fredericks said.

"The public is seeing a picture of Zimmerman that's not accurate," he said.

Martin's family and supporters say Zimmerman's lack of apparent injury in the video is proof he lied about Martin attacking him. National Urban League president Marc Morial said on Current TV said the video "impeaches the story that George Zimmerman is floating that somehow he was injured."

Forensic video expert David Notowitz, founder of the National Center for Audio and Video Forensics, says much work remains before investigators can draw evidence from the video.

"Right now, people are jumping to frantic conclusions," he said. "Mr. Zimmerman may be totally innocent. He may have reason for doing what he did. He also might be guilty. But the evidence is not there yet."