A former friend and neighbor of George Zimmerman, who had previously defended the man accused of stalking and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, has had a change of heart, stating that he believes that Zimmerman got away with murder.

Frank Taafe, who served on the neighborhood watch with Zimmerman, told News13 he believes Martin was racially profiled by Zimmerman and would not have been followed if he “had been a white kid on a cell phone.”

“What I know of George and his tendencies and also my opinion is that he racially profiled Trayvon Martin that night because if that had been a white kid on a cell phone, walking through our neighborhood, he wouldn’t have stayed on him the way he did and that’s a fact and I believe that in my heart,” said Taaffe.

A jury found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder in Trayvon’s death after he followed the teenager despite being instructed not to do so by a police dispatcher, and shot him at close range during a struggle with Zimmerman claiming he feared for his life.

Taafe, a frequent guest on television up to and during the Zimmerman trial defending both his former friend and the Stand You Ground law that figured into the case,  had previously stated that Zimmerman did not profile people.

“George did not surveil just one group of people,” Taaffe said at the time. “You’re asking if George profiled one group of people in my mind. And George looked at the whole landscape when he surveilled our property. It just so happened that the prior eight burglaries were perpetrated by young black males.”

According to Taafe, recent tragedies in his own life made him reconsider his opinion and feel the need to apologize for his earlier stalwart defense of Zimmerman .

“I can only ask for the country to forgive me and today I believe that he racially profiled him based on the color of his skin. Reporter: Some people may wonder what does Frank Taaffe have to gain by doing this?”  Taffe explained.  “Are you working on a book? No book. A TV show? No. I’m just working on me right now and getting right with God.”

Taafe also expressed his condolences to Trayvon Martin’s parents, saying, “I’m sorry that you lost your son, I know what that’s like and I wish things had been different.”