Maybe ABC can ask its forensic analysts to look at Zimmerman's jacket and nose. It looks to me like there's a large vertical streak of blood on the front of his jacket, which could be from a nosebleed. It also looks like there may be a bandaid across his nose, although I can't tell that for sure because it's faint and could be the light.
As I've opined before, I don't think the police video tells us what happened that night. It is just a piece of the story. But the media has not been responsible in its reporting. Good for ABC for acknowledging the video does shows head injuries. I just don't buy that it couldn't have looked closer and seen them when it first obtained the video.
On a related note, NBC is conducting an internal review to see who is responsible for the truncated version of the 911 call broadcast on the Today Show which distorted Zimmerman's comments by leaving out that the dispatcher asked him the race of the person he was calling about, so that it appeared Zimmerman was the one who brought up race.
The actual transcript:
The media coverage of this case has been so one-sided in my view, I've stopped writing about it until there are new developments coming from public officials. That may not be anytime soon, since the state's attorney has said it won't be releasing any more information.
In my view, here's some of what has not been released that is necessary to arrive at a conclusion: The results of the autopsy and the forensic examination of both Trayvon and Zimmerman's clothes; the conclusion of the state's forensic experts on who cried for help (rather than the media's experts); Zimmerman's medical records of treatment; photos of Zimmerman's injuries taken that night; statements of the paramedics at the scene who provided first aid; Zimmerman's recorded interviews the night of the incident, reports from the next day when he reportedly did a reenactment at the scene with police and his subsequent interviews; cell phone records from the phone company (as opposed to a phone bill produced by lawyers for the Martin family); reports and any camera surveillance photos from the convenience store; and witness statements taken the night of the shooting (as opposed to what witnesses later told the media.)
Given the public outcry, I think the authorities will go out of their way to view conflicts in the evidence as warranting charges so that a jury can decide. In other words, if Zimmerman's account is contradicted in any way by other reliable evidence, there will be an arrest and charges. Only if it holds up in every way, will there be no charges.
Update: Latest example of poor reporting is MSNBC today which reports on the federal civil rights investigation into the shooting, saying the feds are examining Zimmerman's prior 911 calls as part of the probe. It refers to the call sheets of the 911 calls, saying they don't provide the answer, and omits that the actual calls which do provide the answer, are also available.
The call sheets show that five of seven phone calls Zimmerman had made since last August involved what he viewed as suspicious activity by young men identified as "black males." But the call sheets do not indicate whether Zimmerman was asked about the race of the suspects or volunteered that information.
The calls themselves are available to listen to, having been made public and posted on the Seminole County Sheriff's page under media links, here. If you need a login, you can get it here. The login info was provided by the Public Information Officer of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office on March 29. On the calls you can hear whether Zimmerman was asked about race or volunteered the information.
Update: Thread now closed, discussion continued here.