Zimmerman wan't playing cop
The **** he wasn't
Are all neighborhood watches playing cop? Is everyone who checks on suspicious behavior in their neighborhood playing cop? That's an absurd view. Cops almost never stop crimes. Concerned citizens stop them all the time. You call a cop when you need a police report. You don't call a cop to stop a crime.
Incorrect Skippy - As neighborhood watch cap I woke up in the middle of the night and saw a white kid cruising through our neighborhood in Boise in 2017 checking for unlocked cars. Called cops and they were there in less than two minutes lights flashing and kids hands in the air. If I'd grabbed my Glock and tried to intervene it could have gone very badly. Turns out he had gun from the unlocked truck of my neighbor.
Zimmerman didn't intervene. He followed at a safe distance and reported Martin's location to the dispatcher.
I'm glad, though, you had such great success with your local police. I called the police once for a car breakin and it took them most of an hour to respond. Other's have not been so lucky as you or even me:
en.wikipedia.org
You call the police to take a report, not to stop a crime. Stories like this one are extremely rare:
Body camera video shows a Columbus officer fatally shoot a teenage girl who swung at two other people with a knife
abcnews.go.com