George Zimmerman, accused of second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin earlier this year, filed suit against NBCUniversal on Thursday, alleging that the company's editing of his voice on a 911 tape constituted defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The suit, filed in circuit court in Seminole County, Fla., asked for a jury trial. A spokeswoman for NBC News had no immediate comment.
The suit charges that journalists at NBC News intentionally edited Mr. Zimmerman's statements to make him appear to be a “racist, predatory villain.â€
The edits of a 911 audio recording - which removed an intervening question from the operator directly asking Mr. Zimmerman what race Mr. Martin was - occurred three times on NBC's “Today†show, first on March 20 in a story by Lilia Luciano; on March 22 in another story by Ms. Luciano; and again on March 27 in a story by Ron Allen.
In Ms. Luciano's first report, Mr. Zimmerman's words to the 911 operator were: “This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something. He looks black.†In fact, Zimmerman told the operator: “This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about.†When the dispatcher said, “O.K., and this guy - is he white, black or Hispanic?†Zimmerman then said, “He looks black.â€
Taking out the dispatcher's question took Mr. Zimmerman's mention of Mr. Martin's race out of context - a crucial omission given that the killing of Mr. Martin on the night of Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., spurred a national debate about self-defense, crime and race. When the omissions were noticed at the end of March, NBC News conducted an investigation and concluded that the edits were mistakes, not deliberate distorti ons. Ms. Luciano subsequently left the network, as did a producer who worked with her. Mr. Allen remains at the network.
Ms. Luciano and Mr. Allen were named as defendants in the lawsuit along with NBC on Thursday. The producer, whose name has not been divulged in news reports, was not named as a defendant.
There was also a fourth defendant, Jeff Burnside, who was a reporter for WTVJ, the NBC-owned station in Miami. Mr. Burnside's story on WTVJ on March 19 was the first to take Mr. Zimmerman's words out of context.
The suit filed on Thursday called the edits a case of “media arson,†intended to keep viewers tuned “by menacing them with a reprehensible series of imaginary and exaggerated racist claims.â€
“Due to the defendants' journalistic crimes,†the suit charged, “Zimmerman has been transformed into one of the most hated men in America.â€
The criminal trial against Mr. Zimmerman, who faces second-degree murder charges, is schedu led to begin in June.
Brian Stelter writes about television and digital media. Follow @brianstelter on Twitter and facebook.com/brianstelter on Facebook.
