An audio diagnostic, Zimmerman saying, "fucking coons"

[onlyadream]

Don't know if anyone posted this yet, but it breaks the audio down to the part where the quote is muttered. This is done several times with the audio being treated several ways.

&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Romulox]

1. This is very compelling evidence. nt

[leveymg]

2. Just put on a good pair of headphones, and it's clear that's what he said. Hate crime

"Stand your ground" laws were made for white property-holders who own guns to shoot scary hoody people who stray out after dark. Time for the Justice Department to step in and prosecute anyone who views this as a license to hunt minorities.

[catbyte]

5. The Sanford PD seem to be claiming it's doctored.

One of the Martin family lawyers was on either Ed Schultz or Lawrence O'Donnell last night (can't remember which!) and she said the police claimed it wasn't on their version. The version where it's being heard is from a local news outlet.

Another police cover-up? The Sanford PD has acted despicably in this case so I don't put anything past them. I have a sick feeling that Zimmerman will get away with this because the Feds didn't sound hopeful about a federal prosecution and I have no faith in the state of Florida.

[leveymg]

7. If the tape has been doctored, a professional sound analyst would detect that right away.

Amateurs can't duplicate the ambient background noise characteristics. If it were faked, we'd have been told by now.

[renate]

19. yep, I remember that

It was on Lawrence O'Donnell's show, at the very end of the hour, and the Martin family's attorney was saying that her office had told her during the break that "fucking coons" wasn't on the official (or, to be more specific, "official&quot version of the tape. And then they ran out of time to discuss the omission, plus they didn't have time or opportunity to compare the two tapes. It seemed pretty potentially explosive to me. Maybe in a few days we'll hear more about this.

[guitar man]

23. Interesting

So that begs the question, did the cops scrub the tape or did someone add it.

One thing I noticed in the version I ripped the audio from, is that the wind starts blowing in the phone right as he says it, making it difficult to detect a change in the background ambience.

I looked up the weather conditions for Sanford on the night of the shooting and wind conditions were about right to produce the wind noise heard on the recording.

[julsHz]

29. background noise

Hi-- liked your analysis of the 911 recording, but seems you have a question about the sudden wind noise. He must have been sitting in his truck to make the call. You can hear a [car?] door slam just before the wind starts, just after Z says "shit he's running". The astute officer on the phone must have noticed the new wind sound, too-- that's when he asks if he is following him.

I have to admit, though, I hear "punks", not "coons". But I don't have sophisticated audio equipment, just my ears!

[guitar man]

31. welcome to DU!

sometimes the biggest problem with stuff like this is subliminal. If a person listens to it and expects to hear something, especially if they've been told that's what it says, many times that's exactly what they will hear. I'm just as susceptible to it as anybody I guess.

I remember back when I was growing up in the Southern Baptist church, they used to bring thes "rock music is the devil" preachers in to turn records backwards and prove that the rock and roll was evil. Without fail, every single one of them would say "I'm gonna play this backwards and you are going to hear it say...." And sure enough, that's what most people would hear.

But yesterday evening I played it for a friend who hasn't been following the news and had no idea what he was listening to. When I asked him what he heard, he said "fucking coons".

[nanabugg]

28. Any "doctoring" was done by the police. Who else had access to the original? nt

[FrodosPet]

17. With Zimmerman being hispanic,

Is he being treated as an "honorary white" by the Sanford PD and TPTB because he shot a black kid, not a white one?

[MrScorpio]

26. It's still a hate crime

Any "honorary white" certificates from the cops or powers won't save if as if he's successfully prosecuted.

[HipChick]

3. he was the child's judge,trail and executioner

Hate Crime...

He needs to be in jail

[Bandit]

4. I heard an attorney for Martin say on the Lawerence O'Donnell show that

The official recording the poilice gave her did not have that sound bite on it. She did not understand where this tape came from, although she did say she had listened to it many times and heard the same thing O'Donnell heard..

[onlyadream]

8. Can't find anything on the recording being altered

but HuffPost is talking about the muttered comment today,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/21/trayvon-martin-911-tape-racial-slur_n_1368905.html
and no one is saying that it was added.

[freshwest]

6. Don't get caught up in the words, it was the act that killed the young man. This was murder.

This murder in our eyes, and most likely for all intents and purposes, was the definition of a hate crime and there needs to be a dialogue on a very deep level with the millions who think like Zimmerman, or look the other way.

But the focus should be on the plain facts of the case that cannot be disputed; he chased down an unarmed boy and murdered him. No self defense. Went after someone who was in fear of his life.

Naturally most of the media won't focus on that, they want to get the emotional and sensational out there first. This is the clearest case of murder, an unprovoked killing, that I've ever heard, and the cellphone evidence is important.

And the PD there has a huge credibility problem from whitewashing crimes against blacks in the recent past. This had better get resolved, and that PD should be charged for the last action that they let themselves off the hooks for.

Vote all these enabling SOBs out of office.

[TorchTheWitch]

9. sounds to me that he was saying "fucking punks"

It's really immaterial anyway since what he DID clearly say elevates it to a hate crime. He tells 911 that there have been a lot of recent crimes in the neighborhood committed by black people, and the ONLY thing he knows about Martin in his observations that he said to 911 was that he was black. He mentions NOTHING that Martin is DOING that could reasonably seen as suspicious, and in fact what he DOES say that Martin was doing that he believed was suspicious clearly was not... walking while black is not a reasonable suspicion of criminality unless one is racist. In other words, he was ONLY suspicious of Martin because he was black, and attempted to justify his racist suspicion of Martin by mentioning the alleged recent crimes by other black people. Clear racist hate crime.

[X_Digger]

18. That was what I heard the first time, too.

Almost like 'Pawhnks'.

[guitar man]

10. I was doing the same thing last night

I ripped the audio out of the youtube video and took a look at it and a listen to it in a couple different programs.






I have a M-Audio Delta 2496 Audiophile sound card in a G5 mac feeding various speakers and headphones in my mix/edit room.







What did I find? IMO the voice on the recording says "fucking coons" beyond any doubt.

Was the recording altered to make it say that? I don't know for 100% certain. I cannot find any telltale markers that it has been altered but can't say with 100% certainty that is hasn't been. The wind noise in the phone that starts up right before he says it makes it harder to tell if there's been a cut/paste edit in the audio.

However I did look up the historical weather for Sanford FL that night and the wind noise seems to be consistent with wind conditions for that date.

I'm far from being a heralded expert in the field of forensic audio, I'm a music producer and recording/mix engineer, but I have done a little forensic audio out of my studio in the past. IMHO, he said it.

[Marrah_G]

11. Really sounds like "coons" to me

His voice is so disturbing

[arthritisR_US]

13. That's what I heard too and I agree with you on the voice. n/t

[Evasporque]

12. JD should subpeona all his other 911 calls....

You can bet there will be a pattern and more racial epithets

[librechik]

14. +100! n/t

[renate]

22. good point

I've never in my life heard anyone use the word "coons," maybe because I don't hang around with anybody who'd ever use it, but maybe because it's out of date. But if he did say it, oh my goodness. Your idea of subpoening his multiple other calls is a very good one.

[thegools]

25. "Coons"

I am guessing you do not live in the deep south. I am in Virginia and have never heard it here, but I have heard it with some frequency in the deeper south (South Carolina). It was one of many racial (bigoted) terms that cropped up from time to time when in the unmixed company of bigots. There are many slurs that may not be familiar to the uninitiated ears, but when you have family that is unreconstructed like I have, you hear them all. For instance, have you ever heard "Porch Monkey?" I am guessing many have not, but I can assure you it is used and not in a kind way.

I think being familiar with the use of the term "coon" makes the brain open to what Zimmerman said. I believe that if one is unfamiliar or unaccustomed to hearing the free use of this term, one's brain would interpret and mold his speak into something that is more familiar (and therefore makes more sense in that person's experience) like: "cops, cunts, punks, goons, jerks" or whatever.

I agree that "coons" may not be widely used but to my ears there is nothing else that he could have said. I heard "f*cking coons" on the unaltered tape before anyone in the main-stream media picked it up. At first I missed it too along with the media, but it was there. He just said it under his breath and so it didn't register until I really listened.

When I first heard it I thought "this will be his downfall." & "he is a bigot after all."

In the end though people believe what they want to believe.

[Signal42]

15. Are you sure he's not saying 'fucking cops'?

It sounds like 'fucking cops' to me.

Could it be that he was pissed that the cops were taking their time getting there? Maybe he didn't like them in general? He has been charged in the past for assaulting one.

[guitar man]

24. I don't think so

I'm far from a hearalded expert in the field of audio forensics, but I've done a crapload of mixdown work on live multitrack recordings where the singers are using standard stage mics without the elaborate type of double mesh pop filters we use in the recording studio.

I can't claim to recognize every vocal sound by its waveform shape , but I have a good eye for "p" "b" and "s" sounds, which we call plosives and silibants in studio jargon. Being able to spot them on vocal tracks allows me to work quickly to check and address possible problems in the vocal tracks.

The one thing I didn't see when I expanded that section of the waveform in the editor was a "p" sound, which would have been there if he had said cops.

[MrScorpio]

27. That makes a lot of sense...

Since the cops are well known for walking around a lot while black and wearing hoodies.

[gkhouston]

30. To me, the vowel sound is clearly "oo", not "aw". n/t

[MrSlayer]

16. TYT did a piece on this the other night.

And that is definitely what he's saying. This was racially motivated murder.

[Fawke Em]

20. And Sybrina is still without her son...

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

21. All I heard was Z: "The back entrance" and dispatch: "Are you following 'im?"

with someone adding "the original" and some other things.

[nadeltanz]

32. Coons or Goons

The word on the audio is either coon or goon. Sounds to me like he says coon. I would think the experts would be able to come up with what is actually being said. I think Zimmerman is going to have to serve time no matter the word, but if it's coon, added jail time will be meted out i.e. a "hate crime". Zimmerman's story is destined to collapse because he's having to make up something that didn't happen, i.e. Martin jumping him from behind. Obviously, Martin was fighting for his life, and during the altercation saw the gun. His cries for help were based on Zimmerman having the gun in his hand. This is speculation, but Zimmerman may have shot Martin, because Martin was crying for help, and he wanted to remove him as a witness. That the Police did not bother to do any forensics or have Zimmerman reenact what went on says it was protecting Zimmerman. The Police protected Zimmerman because of their vigilante connections to him, and it was going to make them look like they the Police could be held liable and sued. That the Sanford Police were involved in a cover-up is obvious. No way when Zimmerman has to tell his story will it be held credible. Any wounds if they are real and not self-inflicted will have come from Martin fighting for his life. Also, the trajectory of the bullet could possibly incriminate Zimmerman even more. It's possible Zimmerman executed Martin, and this is why Martin was screaming for help. He may have seen Zimmerman with the gun in hand and was in no condition or position to keep him from pulling the trigger.

[onlyadream]

33. Totally agree

Any idea in what part of the body Trayvon was shot?

Also, the whole "I'm not a racist... I have black friends" is BS. I know lots of bigots that have black friends, or antisemites who have Jewish friends. To me, they separate the people they know from the group and stereotype and hate. It's not a defense.

[boston bean]

34. I listen once, i hear f'n c**ns

I listen twice, i hear f'n punks

I listen a third time, i hear f'n c*nts.

I just can't tell.

[Solomon]

35. Get your ears checked.

[NMDemDist2]

36. John Fugelsang just posted this thread on FB

Hi John !!

[NYC_SKP]

37. I hope civil suits are filed, I hope he never has a restful night and lives in fear.

Until his death.

[NaturalHigh]

38. No way he said "coons."

No matter how many times you amplify that, he is clearly saying "fucking punks." Even the prosecutors admitted that was what he said.