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11:45 PM PST -- Zimmerman tells us he never used any type of racial slur and says the whole thing started when a female he was with got assaulted ... George says he was only sticking up for her.

George Zimmerman was angry, belligerent and hurled the n-word before he was tossed from a Florida bar ... according to cops.

Seminole Co. Sheriff's deputies went to the bar Wednesday night to investigate a possible battery involving someone in Zimmerman's group. According to the report -- obtained by TMZ -- cops saw Zimmerman shouting at a female employee ... who said she was trying to collect his bill.

The manager told cops George had said, "I didn't know you were a n***** lover."

As for the possible battery, cops say George claimed a man had hit him on the shoulder multiple times, but surveillance video showed it was just a friendly pat. The bar manager said they've had repeated issues with Zimmerman and banned him from returning.

Zimmerman's statement to cops was not flattering. He wrote, "Officer X is an incompetent officer under qualified to flip burgers."