Video and documents present Zimmerman's side of shooting

MIAMI - The legal team for George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, has released Zimmerman's written statement and several audio and video interviews with investigators, in which Zimmerman says he was ambushed and then pummeled so violently by Martin that his head "felt like it was going to explode" and that the teenager had covered his nose and mouth before reaching for Zimmerman's firearm.

It represents the first time that the public has had the opportunity to hear Zimmerman's initial statements to police about the shooting of Martin, an unarmed black teenager.

Martin's death on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., and the decision by the police not to immediately bring charges against Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, set off a national outcry about race and Florida's self-defense laws. The information released on gzlegalcase.com, a website established by Zimmerman's lawyer, Mark O'Mara, includes video of Zimmerman being interviewed the day after the shooting. He has two bandages on the back of his head and said he had difficulty breathing because his nose had been broken. But he appears relatively relaxed.

O'Mara had sought to keep the statements sealed, but the judge ordered them released because Zimmerman had not confessed to a crime.

Zimmerman, 28, told a police detective that he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and was taking the medications Adderall and temazepam, which is used to treat insomnia. He said he was also taking a stomach medication.

In another interview, he said he has been taking 20 milligrams of Adderall twice a day -- and has a bad memory.

Chris Serino, the lead police investigator, is heard repeatedly warning Zimmerman that public opinion would pillory him unless he could explain exactly why he felt justified in pulling the trigger at a "kid with a future."

Zimmerman said he was driving to a store when he saw Martin "looking into homes" inside a gated community in Sanford. He said after he pulled over and called 911 he lost sight of Martin in the darkness before the teenager reappeared and "circled my vehicle."

He said he took two dozen punches. Serino asked him to explain why he doesn't have bruises or broken ribs, saying his claims are "not quite consistent with your injuries."

Martin's parents' attorney Ben Crump couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Zimmerman wrote, "I felt the suspect reach for my now exposed firearm and say, 'Your gonna die tonight,'" while calling him an obscene name. "I unholstered my firearm in fear for my life as he had assured he was going to kill me and fired one shot into his torso."

"He kind of sat back and said, 'You got me' or 'You got me, you got it,'" he said. "And I thought he was saying that he heard the shot and that he was giving up, so I pushed him off me."