Neighborhood watch leader who fatally shot teen not arrested; family files suit

SANFORD, Fla. — The family of a teen, who was fatally shot by neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman, filed a public records lawsuit on Thursday in an effort to get more answers about how the boy died.

Family members said 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, of Miami, was visiting his father and stepmother last month at their home in the Retreat at Twin Lakes, which is a predominately white neighborhood in Sanford.

The teen's family told WFTV that they want to hear the 911 call made just before Martin was shot and killed.

Martin's family said he was walking from a convenience store when he was confronted by Zimmerman.

Martin's family and his attorneys believe the 911 call will reveal what kind of instructions dispatchers gave the neighborhood watch leader when he called them, claiming there was a suspicious person in the neighborhood.

• Poll: Did race play a part in a teen's shooting death by a neighborhood watch leader?
• Slideshow: Childhood photos of teen victim

On Thursday, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee confirmed to WFTV that the dispatcher told Zimmerman to wait for officers to arrive.

However, before police arrived, Zimmerman shot and killed Martin during a scuffle, investigators said.

In the recording, Zimmerman said "They always get away," which could prove the family's case that he was out to get their son that day.

Police said they found a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea on Martin, but no weapons.

Since he was a boy, Martin wanted to play football and become a pilot, said his family.

"To have his life taken away from his by this guy and nothing is being done about it, we just don't understand," said Martin's father, Tracy Martin.

Sanford police have not arrested Zimmerman, and Lee said the investigation is ongoing.

But Zimmerman has been cooperative and claims it was self-defense, even though Martin didn't have a weapon.

"Does the confrontation alone give him a reason, a justifiable reason to shoot and kill a 17-year-old boy?" WFTV reporter Daralene Jones asked.

"Well, it depends on the facts and circumstances," said Lee.

"Zimmerman, an adult, had a gun. Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old, had Skittles. No way you can say self-defense," said the family's attorney, Benjamin Crump.

Crump said he wants to hear the 911 call that Zimmerman made, but Sanford police won't release it.

"If your son had been white, do you think he would've been shot and killed?" Jones asked.

"No, I don't think so and honestly if the shoes were on the other foot and my son had did the shooting he would be locked up right now," said Tracy Martin.

Officials said Martin had a clean record.

Martin's family members said they want to know why Zimmerman hasn't been arrested for killing him.

His family's attorneys said they believe Martin was a victim of racial profiling.

WFTV