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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Sanford City Council Votes "No Confidence" Against Police Chief Bill Lee: The Trayvon Martin Case







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Trayvon Martin case: Sanford commission votes 'no confidence' in police chief

Sanford city commissioners have voted "no confidence" in police Chief Bill Lee Jr., who has been publicly lambasted for his department's handling of the fatal shooting of Miami teenager Trayvon Martin.

Commissioner Mark McCarty made the motion that could lead to the ouster of the chief, who has been on the job just 10 months. Mayor Jeff Triplett and Commissioner Velma Williams voted with the majority.

"I take no pleasure in a public flogging of our police chief," McCarty said before a packed council chambers. "But he really should turn in his resignation."

The vote was 3-2, with Commissioners Randy Jones and Patty Mahany voting against.

"A rush to judgment is wrong," said Mahany, who called the vote a "knee-jerk reaction."

Lee, 52, was hired as chief in May in the wake of criticism surrounding the beating of a homeless black man by the son of a Sanford lieutenant. Lee was not at tonight's meeting.

Commissioners can't fire Lee, a Sanford native, because he reports to City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. However, their vote sends a strong signal.

"I'll take it under advisement," Bonaparte said.

Bonaparte, who became city manager in September, called the vote "a strong statement" but said he wants to wait for investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Brevard-Seminole State Attorney's Office to be completed before he acts.

Trayvon's killing on Feb. 26 has prompted national outrage. Today, Trayvon's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, attended a "Million Hoodie March" in New York City.

"I'm embarrassed by this national shame," Williams said at the meeting.

Trayvon, who was wearing a hoodie at the time, was shot by crime-watch volunteer George Zimmerman, 28, at Retreat at Twin Lakes, a gated town-house community in Sanford. Moments before, Zimmerman called police and reported Trayvon as a suspicious person as the 17-year-old walked to his father's fiancee's home after a candy run to 7-Eleven.

Zimmerman has claimed self-defense under Florida's 2005 "Stand Your Ground" law, prompting outrage, meetings, marches and calls for Zimmerman's arrest. The law allows people to shoot to kill if they think they are being threatened with serious violence or death.

Earlier this evening, commissioners decided to move Monday's City Commission meeting to the Sanford Civic Center to accommodate the hundreds of people expected to attend.

case.

The civic center, 401 E. Seminole Blvd., holds about 600 people, and the staff plans to put speakers in an adjacent park for overflow crowds. The entire meeting will be devoted to the shooting case in a "town hall" style.

Members of Trayvon's family are expected to speak during the 5 p.m. forum.



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Sources: CNN, MSNBC, Orlando Sentinel, Google Maps

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