Frank Taaffe, a neighbor, told CNN that Zimmerman "had a passion for the safety of our neighborhood and he demonstrated to the rest of us that one person could make a difference. And he was an average guy, just like me." In a separate interview, Mr. Taaffe told the Washington Post, "George is a good dude. He cares about this community. He's not a vigilante out looking for trouble."
...from recent court testimony:
The first police officer and the first paramedic to respond to the shooting also testified Friday. Smith testified that when he saw Zimmerman after the shooting, the neighborhood watch volunteer's backside was covered in grass and wetter than his front side, bolstering defense attorneys' contention that Martin was on top of Zimmerman.
As he walked to the squad car after he had been handcuffed, Zimmerman told the officer that "he was yelling for help and nobody would come help him" Smith said.
{I had no sympathy for Zim until I read that statement. He seemed to think he was doing an important job a watch captain, but nobody came to help him when he was in trouble. I sense some real pain here.}