Wednesday, July 31, 2013

A Perfect Neighbor? Considering George Zimmerman, Post-Circus

Helping others is a provably recurring theme of George Zimmerman’s life. Bilingual, he was a translator between parents and faculty at his elementary school by the age of 10. He is said to have tutored children in his neighborhood, helping them with homework. But perhaps the most striking example of Zimmerman’s civic activism was his protesting of how Sanford police handled the beating of Sherman Ware.
Ware was a black homeless man beaten by Justin Collison — the son of Sanford Police Department Lt. Chris Collison. Even though the incident was captured on video and Ware suffered a concussion, the younger Collison wasn’t charged until much later, after the video was made public. Zimmerman excoriated the police department for what he viewed as a coverup. He later blasted the Sanford PD after a police ride-along, during which the officer he rode with allegedly told Zimmerman his favorite place to park his squad car to take naps.

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