Retreat, where randy lived, right . Correct. And i gathered you went and got a picture of your son, just to show them who your son was. Or did they show you a picture of a person that at that time was just described as a person, they showed you a picture of the body there on the ground, correct . Objection, your honor, may we approach . Yes. The George Zimmerman trial continues today with the first full day of the defense continuing their case. Theyre actually at a side bar discussing with the judge at this moment. Im joined now by msnbc legal analyst, lisa bloom. Lisa, we have just seen tracy martin, the father of Trayvon Martin, on the stand. And i think this is what the defense have been building up to today, isnt it, by presenting all of these witnesses, who are claiming that the voice they heard screaming out on that socalled lauer 911 tape was actually George Zimmerman. Well, thats right. And there have been seven witnesses who were Family Members or friends of George Zimmerman who said, it is George Zimmerman screaming out for help on that call. Now we hear from tracy martin, the father of Trayvon Martin, who says he now believes it was his son, Trayvon Martin, calling out. But we know that initially, when he heard it the first time, he denied that it was his son. And we heard from two Police Officers who were present at that initial interview. The defense is opening, number one, that the jury will say, it was George Zimmerman, and therefore this is a selfdefense case, or a fallback position, its just too muddled, its impossible for us to believe, and therefore is reasonable doubt about it. I think either way is good for the defense. Except, lisa, as i was listening to mr. Martin speak there, i okay, were going to go back, actually, because the proceedings are continuing. Detective serino or investigator serino had come and showed you a photograph and you identified it as being your son, correct . Correct. Now we move to the 28th, where they ask you to go down to the Police Station, correct . Correct. And you go down with your fiancee at the time, brandi green, correct . Correct. And at that time they played several recordings to you, correct . Yeah, they played a series of the 911 calls. Okay. And these were calls where neighbors had called in, regarding what you now knew was the death of your son. Correct . Correct. Right, and the recordings were of people calling and explaining that somebody had been shot and im sure you listened to the personnel identified as the lady who went hysterical on the 911 call and you were listening to all of that, is what im saying. To my recollection, i dont think detective serino played each call in its entirety. Okay. He played some of the, to my knowledge, he played some of each call. Leading up to the last call, with the fatal shot. All right. So they played the call then of the cries for help and then you actually hear a shot, is that correct . Correct. And am i safe to assume that you still at that time were in denial in the sense of not wanting to believe that your son was dead . Correct. And this was an emotional time for you, would that be fair to say . Very emotional. I must object and refer to your previous ruling. Were now on to the day of the phone calls being played. Overruled. This was a very emotional time for you, in terms of this going on, im talking about the day the recording was played for you at the Sanford Police department, correct . Correct. And you listened to the recording, and as you stated, describe to the jury, you pulled your chair back in disbelief that you were actually listening to voices for help and also, more importantly, also, a shot. Correct. You realized that that was the shot that killed my son, yes. Did you really know what to do, at that point . No, i was my world was, from that point, until today, my world has just been turned upsidedown. Okay. Lets focus on that day, then, after you heard the cries for help or the recording, thats been referred to as the lauer recording, and then also the shot, at that same town, you were right there, investigator serino asked you about the recording, if you could recognize the voice, correct . Correct. And im assuming that was difficult for you to even contemplate, identifying or not identifying the voice, is that correct . Correct. Okay. And as best you could, you attempted to answer investigator serino, is that true . Yes. Now, as was pointed out, there was a lot of commotion in that recording, wasnt there . The yells for help, the person calling, and then most importantly, the shot too. In terms of your mind, what was going through your mind, can you describe to the jury what was going through your mind when you were listening to that. Basically what i was listening to, i was listening to my sons last cry for help. I was listening to his life being taken. And i was coming, trying to come to grips that trayvon was here no more. It was just tough. And as mr. Omara pointed out, the subsequent time, you were present when that recording was played again at the Mayors Office, is that correct . Correct. Okay. And i believe your former wife, miss fulton, was present, correct . Correct. And wanted to listen to it did you listen to that recording and other recordings at that time too . I cant remember, i cant remember if it was all of the 911 calls or was it just that last 911 call, but i do remember that i took whole control of the mouse or the clicker or whatever it was that they had and i was able to rewind that same tape over and over again. Do you want to, i guess, hear your sons voice over and over, just to did that bring you any comfort, i guess, is what im trying to im going to object again, same relevance, same objection as before. Overruled. May i have the request read back, for ill with glad to rephrase the question. Okay, thank you. You were playing that recording over and over. You were still dealing with this . His death . Yes. Now, this was back, this was god, it was some time in march. It was later, it wasnt like days later, you were having to deal with his death . Correct. And you played it, you said, did you actually write down, one, two, three, four, five or youre estimating that you played at least 20 times . Im estimating that i played it maybe 20 times. And you played it over and over, why . Were you trying to deal with this . What were you doing . It wasnt as much that i was trying to deal with it. I was just trying to figure out on that night of february 26th, 2012, why did the defendant get out of his vehicle and chase my son. And you werent there when it happened, correct . Correct. And this recording, i guess, is one of the last things in terms of hearing the voice and the shot, and you were trying to as best you can figure out what happened or why it happened . Yes. Thank you, sir. No further questions. Any redirect . Yes. Do you believe that the police lied when the two officers said that you said no about it being your son . Objection, your honor, its improper about what somebody else is saying. Your honor, i think its necessary. Well, youll have to rephrase your question, because its not proper to have a witness comment on another witness testimony. Ill do it this way, then. Did you ever instruct your attorney, ben crump you didnt have ben crump when you listened to the tape on the 27th or the 28th, did you . No. He was not your attorney at that point . No, he wasnt. Later, did you instruct him to say that the police lied when they said that you couldnt tell when they said that you had said no about it being your sons voice. Did you instruct your lawyer to say that . I never instructed anyone to say anything. You never instructed ben crump to say the police had lied about that. I never instructed anyone to say anything. Did you instruct your lawyer, ben crump, to say that the audio has since been cleared up and now you can hear it better . No, wii didnt. Nothing further. May mr. Martin be excused . Yes, your honor. Subject to recall. Mr. Omara, may mr. Martin step down . Certainly. You may step down. Call your next witness, please weve just been listening to plaintive and painful testimony from tracy martin, the father of Trayvon Martin, speaking about those phone calls, the 911 calls, and im joined now by Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post and lisa bloom, who is our msnbc expert. And jonathan actually asked you, lisa, just before mr. Trayvon took the stand, whether mr. Martin, sorry, took the stand, whether you thought it would be a good idea for the defense to call him. And your reaction was no. Thats right. And thats still my answer. I agree with the answer they gave before. You know, i dont think that was particularly helpful, to the defense. You know, i think its kind of overkill at this point. And this is a very, very sympathetic man. I think any of us can understand, if your son has been killed, unexpectedly, at a young age, and youre at the Police Station and youre answering questions, youre going to be beyond dazed and confused. Absolutely. Lisa, we are going back to the proceedings, so thank you, but please stay with us. And on february 26th, 2012, what was your occupation . I was the chief of police for the city of sanford. No longer in that position . No, sir. When did that end . June 22nd, 2013. 2012, im sorry. Thank you. Were you then chief of police during the initial investigation stages of the case that brings us here today, state versus George Zimmerman . Yes, sir. If you would, just tell the jury a little bit about your background in Law Enforcement. Ive 30 years of Law Enforcement experience. I started at the Seminole CountySheriffs Office as road patrol deputy in 1982. I was promoted through the ranks to the position of captain. I retired in 2009, at that rank of captain, and charged with our special Operations Division and Emergency Services division. Nine years of that to experience was in investigations, five years as an investigator, four as a supervisor. And whered you grow up . I was born and raised in sanford. Its your hometown . Yes, sir. Did becoming chief of Sanford Police department then become sort of a pinnacle in your career, for its Law Enforcement . Yes, it was. How long were you with sanford pd as its chief . Im sorry . How long were you with sanford pd as its chief . From may of 2011 to june 2012. Did you say you came out of retirement to take that position . I retired from the Seminole Countys Sheriffs Office and took a position with Seminole State College with their director of Public Safety and provided certificate training in the areas of Law Enforcement, corrections, firefighting, and paramedic and emt services and also a twoyear Degree Program in each of those disciplines. And were you then sort of recruited from that teaching position to get reactivated in Law Enforcement as the chief of sanford pd . That position came available while i was still at the Sheriffs Office and i applied for that. Particular to this case, then, i presume that you were not were you handson or were you just in a supervisory role in the investigation over the George Zimmerman case . I was in a supervisory or administrative role at the Police Department. But you id you have particular focus on this case as well as a time went on, from february 26th, during the time that you still had involvement in the case . Yes, sir. Okay. Did that also include the playing of a 911 call for the Martin Family members . Were you aware of that decision . And i want to focus you, at this point, simply, were you aware that that decision had been made, that the tape was going to be played for the Martin Family . My recommendation was that the 911 i want to be careful a little bit, thats why i focus the question. I dont want to spend a lot of time dealing with the decision to play the tape. I want to focus once that decision was made, and well talk about from that point forward. So you are aware, were you not, that a decision was made, that the tape would be released to be played to the Martin Family . Is that correct . Yes, sir. Once that decision had been made, i want to focus you on the way that the recording was played for the Martin Family, okay . Yes, sir. So, generally speaking, with your experience in Law Enforcement, within the context of what we will call lineups or whether that be a visual lineup or an audio lineup, what are the best practices as to how to handle lineups, generally . Generally, just as in a, for example, photo lineup, you would show that photo array or that piece of evidence to a potential witness in a case individually. And what is the purpose of doing it individually, rather than in a group . So their decision is not influenced. One from the other . One witness influencing another witness . Yes, sir. So if, in fact, you were showing a photo lineup to this jury and asking them if they could pick out me, would you do it as a group, as a jury, or would you do it individually, one juror at a time. You should do it individually. And the purpose of doing it individually, as opposed to a group . So their identification would not be influenced by others. Is that a similar process, then, to what would be done with an audio lineup . Should be, yes, sir. And an audio lineup, similar to a photo lineup, is just having somebody listen to a piece of evidence, to see if they can identify anything that piece of evidence . Yes, sir. And that was what was going to happen in this case, once the decision was made to play it to the Martin Family, correct . That it was going to be played for them . It is my understanding that one member of their family had already listened to that tape. Again, my recommendation right, were going to talk i want to talk about your recommendation as to anything other than, once a decision was made, what was your recommendation as to how the tape should be played for the Family Members . It should be played individually. Okay. Do you know the result of how it was played . Was it played individually or as a group . It is my understanding it was played in a Group Setting in the Mayors Office. With Law Enforcement present . No, sir. In your years of experience, how is is that normally an event that would be handled by Law Enforcement . Yes, sir. May i have a moment, your honor . Yes, you may. In this particular case, then, did you ask to be present during the time that the recording was replayed for the family . I offered to be present, yes, sir. And was that accepted . No, sir. Were you secluexcluded from room . Yes, sir. Nothing further, your honor. Thank you. Cross . Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon. The mayor made a decision not to have you in there, is that correct . I believe i asked the city manager if he wanted me to be in the room, and they declined. The city manager was your boss. Thats correct. And so the mayor, by virtue of that . In my position, my contract was with the city manager. Okay. All right. And the recording itself was played in the Mayors Office, correct . Yes, sir, thats correct. And you werent i apologize, did i interrupt you . No. Did you finish answering . I did. And you were not present when the recording was played, correct . I was not present in the map Mayors Office . You were in the same building, but not in the Mayors Office when that was played, is that correct . Yes, sir. So you were asked about the lineup, and just so the jury knows, if case they havent heard of a lineup, you dont want to have normally a lineup includes six photographs, right . Yes, sir. And you have a person look at the lineup and then identify if they know one of the individuals that did something to them or was a witness or whatever, is that correct . Thats correct. What you dont want to do is show them a photograph, just one by itself, correct . Thats correct. Also, in a lineup, you dont want a potential witness to a crime to have seen something on tv saying, this is the person and this case is about this, and heres a photograph. You dont want to do that either, correct . Preferably not, yes. Right, because that would be kind of tainting it, right . Right. So in other words, if you in your experience, you had a case and the witness said, oh, i saw the photograph on tv or i heard the voice on tv and it was, you know, they broadcast it recording the case of joe, joe is a suspect, that would be tainted, correct . Possibly. Okay. And the reason is because then the person, potentially, was influenced by the fact that the case dealt with joe, and they knew joe was arrested and theres a photograph of joe, then that would be tainted, potentially, correct . Possibly, yes, sir. Okay. And that also applies to voice, correct . Yes, sir. Voice and photo lineups, you kind of do the same thing, correct . If you can, yes, sir. Right. And when you say a voice lineup, you would actually have six separate recordings, to be fair, in terms of completely accurate, you would have six separate voices, then you would have the person actually look and listen to all six, and then say, if you did it similar to a photo lineup, you would have a person then say, which one