ORLANDO, Fla. — A driver says George Zimmerman threatened to kill him, asking “Do you know who I am?” during a road confrontation in their vehicles, police said Friday.

The driver, 35-year-old Matthew Apperson, told Lake Mary police officers that a passenger in a truck stopped at a light next to his car on a busy street in this Orlando suburb, rolled down his window and yelled, “Hey, what’s your problem? Why you shaking your finger?”

Additional Images

George Zimmerman, right, the gunman in the death of Trayvon Martin, listens to defense counsel Daniel Megaro during his initial court appearance in Sanford, Fla., in 2013. Reuters

Apperson said he was listening to music with his windows rolled up at the time, and that the passenger’s yelling was unprovoked.

The truck’s driver then asked Apperson, “Do you know who I am?” according to police. Apperson said he believed it was Zimmerman.

“George Zimmerman was the driver, and they were threatening to kick my ass and to shoot me,” Apperson told a police dispatcher in a 911 call.

Apperson told the dispatcher that he pulled into a nearby gas station to use the phone because he didn’t have his cellphone, and the truck followed him. Zimmerman drove the truck up to Apperson’s car, blocking him in, he said.

“He almost hit my car and he said he would shoot me then,” said Apperson, who told the dispatcher that he never saw a gun in Zimmerman’s truck. “Both of them were threatening to shoot me and kill me.”

Apperson called police from the gas station, but the truck was gone by the time officers arrived. Apperson, who has a concealed-weapons license, was carrying a firearm at the time, according to police.

Officers told Apperson that without other witnesses or clear video identifying the driver as Zimmerman it would be difficult to make a case, police said. Apperson said he didn’t want to press charges.

Two days later, Apperson saw Zimmerman in his truck outside the disability benefits business where Apperson works.

“It seems like the guy is sitting there, waiting for me,” Apperson told a dispatcher in another 911 call. “It’s disheartening to see him lurking around here.”

Officers who responded confirmed the truck driver was Zimmerman. In a police car video of two police officers questioning Zimmerman, an officer pulls out a gun from Zimmerman’s waistband. Zimmerman shows him what looks to be a license.

Zimmerman told officers that he had an appointment at the address, according to police. Also located in the strip of businesses are a psychiatrist’s office and a Christian counseling center. Apperson declined to press charges again.

Zimmerman was acquitted last year of second-degree murder for fatally shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman, who was a neighborhood watch volunteer, said he shot the unarmed, black teenager in self-defense during a confrontation in February 2012 inside a gated community in Sanford, just outside Orlando.

Relatives of Martin accused Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, of racially profiling the teen and instigating the fight. The case triggered a national debate about race and an examination of self-defense laws. Since his acquittal, Zimmerman has had several brushes with the law.

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