He told the operator “they always get away” and that Martin was eluding/running once he (Martin) noticed that Zimmerman was on the phone. I don’t know what I personally would do, but a statement like the operator gave is not an order that has to be followed - even if they directly told him not to.
Sometimes the police appreciate the help, other times they ask that you not follow or make chase because it can be a danger. Tough call, but it sounds like crime in the neighborhood was up and that increase in crime was driven mainly by one demographic if I’ve read the stories correctly.
Just because the amount of calls Zimmerman made were (seemingly) disproportionately about blacks doesn’t mean his intentions were racist. That fact may just point to the truth about who was committing crimes in the neighborhood - no matter how uncomfortable that truth might be for some to accept.
Not a tough call at all. Blacks commit over 50% of all crime in the country despite being 12% of the population. The city where the incident occurred was 30% black. It wouldn't be surprising if blacks committed 9 out of 10 crimes there. Obviously not all blacks are criminals. But it is equally obvious that most criminals are black.