Sanford Detective who Doubted Zimmerman's Story Demoted to Graveyard Shift as Patrolman

From [HERE] and [HERE] Special Prosecutor Angela Corey on Tuesday released to the public a small batch of evidence in the case. There were no revelations. The most compelling piece was a 29-page Sanford police report that she had released last month. This time, however, wide sections that had been blacked out were restored. They included more details that revealed police believed Trayvon's death was preventable.

Police records released show in greater detail how the Sanford detective investigating the case was unconvinced that Zimmerman was legally justified when he shot Martin. Detective Chris Serino believed Zimmerman jumped to a "faulty conclusion" about Martin, an unarmed teen who he said never used deadly force when he battered Zimmerman.

Serino's statement made note of the fact that Zimmerman had called police to report the "suspicious" presence of a black male on at least four prior occasions.  "Zimmerman, by his statements made to the call taker and recorded for review and his statements made to investigators following the shooting death of Martin, made it clear that he had already reached a faulty conclusion as to Martin's purpose for being in the neighborhood," Serino wrote.

He said Zimmerman spotted Martin twice, but didn't use the opportunity to introduce himself as the concerned neighborhood watch person he claims to be. Zimmerman said he was afraid of the 150 lb teen, but Serino was skeptical.

"His actions are inconsistent with those of a person who has stated he was in fear of another subject," Serino added. "Investigative findings show that George Michael Zimmerman had at least two opportunities to speak with Trayvon Benjamin Martin in order to defuse the circumstances surrounding the encounter. On at least two occasions, George Michael Zimmerman failed to identify himself as a concerned resident or a neighborhood watch member to Trayvon Benjamin Martin."

When he saw a young black man walking toward his pickup truck in the rain, George Zimmerman rolled up the window because he was afraid, he told police. That was missed opportunity No. 1, Sanford police concluded. There was a second missed opportunity to diffuse the situation minutes later, police wrote in a report released Tuesday.

The two found themselves face to face on a sidewalk and the young man asked, "You got a problem?" Zimmerman answered, "No," then reaching into his jacket, the police report says. Had he explained either time that he was a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, he might have defused what moments later became a fight that ultimately left Trayvon Martin, an unarmed a 17-year-old, dead.

Wrote lead Investigator Chris Serino, "Investigative findings show the physical injuries displayed by George Michael Zimmerman were marginally consistent with a life-threatening episode as described by him." There would have been no such episode, Serino wrote, if Zimmerman had just talked to the Miami Gardens teenager, explaining why he was following him.

Serino Demoted

Days after several recorded interviews between Serino and Zimmerman were made public, the detective got a new job: On July 7, he starts in his new assignment as a uniformed patrolman on the graveyard shift, at the same pay. The Department claimed that he requested the change. 

"It's not a demotion," Sanford Police spokesman Sgt. David Morgenstern said of Serino, 45, who has been with the department for 15 years. "There isn't any more prestige in being a detective. We have officers who love uniform patrol. This was of his own free will." 

Serino "got demoted because he told the truth," said Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Martin's family.

Serino headed the much-criticized investigation that, once concluded, left police department managers convinced they did not have enough evidence to arrest Zimmerman. That decision set off weeks of civil rights protests in Sanford and across the country.

Serino and the police department ultimately filed paperwork with prosecutors, recommending that Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter. A short time later, Gov. Rick Scott appointed a special prosecutor, who charged Zimmerman with second-degree murder.

Zimmerman, 28, is currently in the Seminole County Jail, awaiting trial in the Feb. 26 shooting. He's expected to appear in court Friday for a bond hearing.

Serino's statement made note of the fact that Zimmerman had called police to report the "suspicious" presence of a black male on at least four prior occasions.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/26/3677937/sanford-detective-doubted-zimmermans.html#storylink=cpy

Tuesday's newly-released evidence also included a list the injuries Zimmerman's doctor allegedley identified: An open scalp wound and a closed nasal fracture.

On Tuesday, prosecutors released several videos and audio tapes, most of which had already been made public last week by Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara. One video released Tuesday shows several minutes of previously unseen footage of Zimmerman discussing with police his doctor's diagnosis of his injuries.

"I have a broken nose. She says I could use stitches, but she'd rather not put them in - as long as I didn't mess with my head. My skin is already healing nicely," Zimmerman said at the end of a video where he walked through the scene with investigators the day after the Feb. 26 shooting. "She says I didn't need to put stitches in right away."

As to the absence of wounds on other parts of his body, Zimmerman said: Martin "was just focused on my head."

Zimmerman said that his doctor also advised that he needed to let the swelling in his nose go down before it could be treated. Sanford Detective Doris Singleton noticed that the inflammation on the side of Zimmerman's bruised head had gone down.

"My wife is an RN student, so she went to work," Zimmerman said. "Good to keep her busy, I guess."

Prosecutors released a video of Zimmerman taking a computerized analysis that measured the stress in his voice. In it, he answered a brief series of questions such as "Is the wall green?" and "Were you in fear for your life when you shot the guy?"

"Mr. Zimmerman was subjected to two exams and was found to be classified as 'no deception indicated,'" Sanford Police investigator William Erwin wrote.