Witness Says George Zimmerman Repeatedly Bullied Him At Work, Targeted Him With Racist Jokes

[kpete]

Source: Think Progress

Among the evidence in the Trayvon Martin case released by the Florida state prosecutor yesterday was a 15-minute interview with a former work collegue of George Zimmerman. The man, who is not identified by name, says that Zimmerman relentlessly bullied him at work.

Zimmerman, according to the witness, targeted him because he was Middle Eastern. He repeatedly called the man a “fucking moron” and mocked him using the voice of “Achmed the terrorist.” Zimmerman’s stories about the man would involve “bombing,” “I’ll kill your family” and other “jokes” about “Middle Eastern stuff.” According to the man, this went on “for days and days.”

Listen:
http://soundcloud.com/thinkprogress/george-zimmerman-witness-22

After a few months, Zimmerman was terminated. According to the witness, “he was fired for calling HR hotline so many times…he would complain about each and every manager and employee.”




Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/18/486523/audio-witness-says-george-zimmerman-repeatedly-bullied-him-at-work-targeted-him-with-racist-jokes/

[NYC_SKP]

1. I can, seriously, now lay this at George Bush's and Cheney's feet.

the terrorist shit.

Fucking fuck.

[lukkadairish]

3. You mean

"turrurust" don't ya? The only cold comfort we have is that Bush and Dick are relegated to the borders of this country only, and forever.

[TBF]

10. It's "comforting" that they stay here? For whom? I'd like them anywhere BUT this country ... nt

[Lost-in-FL]

28. Like nuclear waste, you really don't want your crap traveling around the world.

So you truly need to keep them home but isolated.

[liberalnationalist]

25. yep

I agree..NYC....fucking fuck...

RawMoney/Zimmerman 2012 "the fucking fucked up motherfucking fucked up fuckers for president

[cheapdate]

37. George W. Bush spoke publicly and often about his belief

that we weren't at war with Islam and that Muslim Americans were Americans in every sense of the word. That and the fact that he created the Pacific Islands National Marine Sanctuary are the only good things I can say about the man.

[TahitiNut]

49. You can't unring that "Crusade" bell.

As long as Dumbya and Dick aren't in prison, there's no justice.

[cheapdate]

51. Easily the stupidest thing any president has ever said in my lifetime.

That bell can't be unrung. Those words will be remembered and repeated in the Islamic world for generations and used to inspire hatred for the United States. Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld should be in prison. I backed Ramsey Clark's organization to hold Bush accountable. But alas, that ship appears to have sailed.

[Chemisse]

54. I liked that he wanted a good immigration policy.

Contrary to everyone else in the Republican party.

But that's about it.

[pacalo]

53. The Bush/Cheney legacy lives on & on.

[lolly]

2. Calling HR hotline all the time

Sounds like his behavior as a "neighborhood watch captain." Didn't he call 911 several dozen times to report "suspicious" people?

[nxylas]

4. Yes, he made the calls on his Suspiciousberry

Before heading down to the casino for a game of suspiciousjack.

D'you see where I'm going with this...?

[awoke_in_2003]

14. Yep...

He liked to suspiciousball people

[KansDem]

34. "Pack up all my care and woe. Here I go. Singing low."

"Bye, bye, Suspiciousbird."

[awoke_in_2003]

36. you've just made my suspiciouslist...

[Suji to Seoul]

56. His favorite songs are Suspicion by Terry Stafford and Suspicious Minds by Elvis

[NYC_SKP]

5. Or, because of his appearance, weight, skin tone, features, was a victim of Bullying....

And then the torment manifests itself into bullying of someone who, in turn, is even less powerful than himself.

Black kid, easy target for the bully victim who became a bully.

Classic pattern.

[Cal33]

6. You mean, he's the type that identifies with the aggressor? If you can't beat them, join them? Has

no real value system of his own?

[Voice for Peace]

15. like mitt

bullies are usually subservient to bigger bullies.

[fascisthunter]

44. nailed it!

[patricia92243]

60. Bingo!

[Cosmocat]

8. He flat out is mental

been saying that all along, dude just is now wired right, and is pretty darn mean, too.

[lolly]

9. Yes, that sounds right

It also sounds like his well-connected, religious family refused to accept that their son might have problems, and covered up the tracks whenever his escalating mental illness caused trouble.

[Cosmocat]

22. ABSOLUTELY

this to me is THE STORY here.

It should never had drawn on "racial lines."

The story here is that clown DA and police not properly dealing with this situation from moment one because of his old man.

How ANYONE defends this clown is beyond me.

[crunch60]

16. Next thing Zimmerman's defense will be entering a insanity plea, he shot Martin because his medication

interfered with his "critical thinking skills". I'm not buying the mental thing. He was a racist bully that shot and killed an innocent young man, because he thought he could, and get away with it.

[Cosmocat]

23. Sure

"He was a racist bully that shot and killed an innocent young man, because he thought he could, and get away with it."

I agree.

I am not excusing it, but even as a bully, this clown just was not right.

Some serious obsessive compulsive behavior, some paranoid tendencies.

The other response highlights, his family has been able to protect him to this point.

[liberalnationalist]

26. mental issue

should never be used unless they had been institutionalized previously for more than 1 year.

this "insanity" plea thing needs to be thrown right out the door, isn't that what rightwingers complain about when "america is going to hell because we do not have Law and Order, because of insanity pleas"??????????????

but of course not in Zimmerman's case...why because it "A's hays rat ta killa thate thar blake kud"

[freshwest]

64. They love that defense when it's one of their stochastic terrorist lone gunmen killing a liberal.

Oh, no, it's just an aberration! He was mentally ill!

Nothing to do with listening to GOP demagogues.

Nah, he's just a nut, not like rest of the Tea Party Terrorists.

Sure...

[freshwest]

61. +1

[KansDem]

33. He even called 911 to report potholes

Here--
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/trayvon-shooters-911-calls-potholes-piles-trash-black-men

[vaberella]

7. I wonder how this would go over in the GD thread. Or his meds. n/t

[HopeHoops]

12. It's being discussed in GD, including his meds.

[zeemike]

11. That is very revealing

And shows just why Zimmerman was a time bomb just waiting to explode.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[kpete]

19. thanks

for being here Uncle Joe

peace, kpete

[april]

17. Thanks so much !

[razorman]

18. Unless these people are willing to stand up in court and testify to this,

these stories are meaningless. Even so, I have difficulty seeing how they will be relevant to the criminal case at hand, from a strictly legal standpoint. We can believe what we like about Zimmerman, such as believing that he stalked and murdered Trayvon Martin. But in order to send him to prison, it must be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Can the prosecutor bring these statements into the court as evidence? After all, true or not, they are still hearsay at this point.

[JDPriestly]

31. They are relevant to the ractial profiling issue which the Feds are supposedly investigating.

If Zimmerman is not convicted in state court, and even if he is, there is a possibility that he could face federal charges. I think it is remote at this point, but this testimony would be some evidence that Zimmerman profiled people who belonged to minorities he viewed as less popular than his own and made a lot of trouble for them.

The behavior this witness describes is very troubling.

[razorman]

55. You could be right. Do you think the fact that Zimmerman himself is a minority will have

any bearing on charges of "profiling"? It should not matter, but it might.

[JDPriestly]

57. Members of racial minorities can profile too.

That is not an assurance that a person will be fair in his reactions and assessments of others.

[razorman]

66. Of course you are right about that. But, in strictly legal terms, relating to what can be proved

in court, I wonder if his minority status will affect whether a prosecutor will be willing to accuse him of profiling, among other possible charges. Also, is "profiling" actually illegal there?

[Lilyeye]

65. For some reason I don't even think Zimmerman views himself as one

Probably because his father is a white male. He just strikes me as the type of who goes out of his way to trash other minorities because he assumes that will make him popular with the "dominate group." I knew a guy who had a white father and Hispanic mom like Zimmerman. He would make racist comments thinking that people would be cool with it. He was honestly one of the most racist people I've ever known.

[razorman]

67. I do not know how Zimmerman might view himself in this respect. But, our public impressions of him

are pretty much irrelevant. Whether he is punished for what he did is up to the legal system, and relies on what can be proved in court. Since there appear to be no witnesses to the actual shooting itself, it seems to me that the state has a long way to go to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed second-degree murder. Personally, I think he did. But proving it in court is a different matter.

[lolly]

38. Don't know whether it's evidence

But it wouldn't be hearsay, which would be second-hand reporting of what somebody said or did--I heard somebody complain about being bullied by Zimmerman... etc.

It might be considered some sort of character/prior disposition type thing.

[brush]

63. Reasonable doubt

There's no reasonable doubt whatsoever that he killed the kid. He admitted that. Many posters seem to be forgetting that point. There is a dead body that zimmerman killed. SYG law or not, he's going to be convicted of something even if it's plead down to involuntary manslaughter. He killed someone, for God's sake.

[Judi Lynn]

20. So he torments people both at work, and during his leisure time. What a right-wing hero.

How could this revelation not be taken as a promise he will always be a serious threat to everyone who doesn't meet with his approval, anyone with no way to protect himself, that is.

[closeupready]

21. That should not be addmissible as evidence.

But I guess since this is Florida...

[PatentlyDemocratic]

40. Probably won't be able to unless the defense brings up character evidence first

I don't know about Florida's rules of evidence, but federal law (which most states largely follow) essentially prevents the prosecution from presenting character evidence until the defense brings it up first. The defense should focus on the injuries Zimmerman received.

Even though the defense will claim Trayvon Martin was the first aggressor, that only allows evidence of Trayvon's peacefulness, not Zimmerman's character.

[csziggy]

62. At the SYG hearing character may be all important

Zimmerman made it relevant the night of the killing when he lied to police about his background being "squeaky clean". His buddy Frank Taaffe made it important when he said Z was "ready to blow". His family and friends made it important when they gave Reuters their claims of Z's "choir boy" past.

I don't think the rules at at a SYG hearing are the same as at a trial, either, though I'm not a lawyer.

[Doremus]

24. Zimmerman is a fruitbat who should have had his wings clipped long ago.

The man is likely certifiable and should have been put away for society's protection years ago.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. Sounds like a bad case of tattle tale-itis

[Lost-in-FL]

29. Damn, this guy is a piece of work! nt

[onehandle]

30. Just another gun culturist. nt

[Thinkingabout]

32. Another unstable person with a permit to carry

Hey all gun people, this type of person causes gun laws to happen, it is time for NRA to stand up and say some do not need to have guns in their possession.

[secondvariety]

45. The NRA couldn't care less

who owns guns. They're nothing but lobbyists for the gun and ammo manufacturers-that's all they are. The only reason the NRA gives a shit about the 2nd Amendment is because it's profitable to do so.

[Thinkingabout]

50. You are so right, if it means getting a dime in their pocket

[obliviously]

35. An anonymous witness with heresay evidence

That should be enough to hang him I guess.

[lolly]

39. Not the same as hearsay

"I heard he bullied other people" or "John said Zimmerman bullied him" would be hearsay.

"He bullied me" is not hearsay.

The claim that he reported people to HR constantly can be verified--or disproved--by looking at actual records.

It may or may not be admissible as relevant to this case, but it isn't hearsay.

[PatentlyDemocratic]

41. Yep

Unless the defense foolishly opens Pandora's box by presenting character evidence first.

[fascisthunter]

43. no, but it's enough to make you post hyperbole

[arely staircase]

58. you might want to look up hearsay nt

[fascisthunter]

42. mentally unstable

[Neue Regel]

46. Did this witness work in Human Resources at the company?

He makes this assertion:

“he was fired for calling HR hotline so many times…he would complain about each and every manager and employee.”

I'd be interested to see the reason given for Zimmerman's termination in the company's HR file. Also, this guy would have pretty strong grounds for a lawsuit against the employer if some of his other claims are true:

The man, who is not identified by name, says that Zimmerman relentlessly bullied him at work.

Zimmerman, according to the witness, targeted him because he was Middle Eastern. He repeatedly called the man a “fucking moron” and mocked him using the voice of “Achmed the terrorist.” Zimmerman’s stories about the man would involve “bombing,” “I’ll kill your family” and other “jokes” about “Middle Eastern stuff.” According to the man, this went on “for days and days.”

Where was management? Did he file any complaints with HR? Why would they fire Zimmerman for calling the HR hotline too many times, but not for repeatedly bullying and harassing a coworker?

It should be easy enough to substantiate or discredit the claims of this witness.

[Tutonic]

47. BROKEN NOSE

When you shoot a person at close range--there is ALWAYS blowback...where the force of the bullet being ejected from the metal causes the gun to pull up and back...always happens. Experienced gun owners know to hold the gun away from the chest or face area to avoid getting a split lip or nose fracture....sort of like what Zimmerman displays in the photos. NRA members knows this. SOrry that this is off topic but I'm tired of the lies being perpetrated in the media regarding how Martin fractured his nose. Oh and by the way--there is no medical evidence that his nose was broken, medical reports state "possible" nose fracture. MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NY TImes, LA TImes etc., do your job!!!!!!

[RainDog]

48. what a charmer n/t

[JI7]

52. is that the same Job he worked at with Joe Oliver ?

i remember Lawrence o'donnell seemed to know more than he said when he referred to them working together. and how oliver seemed reluctant or ashamed when he brought it up. but they never gave details.

[Quixote1818]

59. kick