Police chief in Trayvon Martin case to step down..”temporarily”
In Uncategorized on March 22, 2012 at 12:36 pm
By Zachary Roth | The Lookout – 2 hrs 23 mins ago
Sanford, Fla., Police Chief Bill Lee is “temporarily” resigning amid widespread criticism of his department’s handling of the Trayvon Martin case, he announced moments ago.
“My role as the leader of this agency has become a distraction for this organization,” Lee said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. “It is apparent that my involvement in this matter is overshadowing the process. I have come to the decision that I must temporarily remove myself from the position of police chief of the city of Sanford.”
Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. said in a letter released Wednesday evening that police were “prohibited” from arresting George Zimmerman, who had confessed to shooting Martin, “based on the facts and circumstances they had at the time.” Zimmerman told local police he acted in self-defense.
Sanford police have been criticized for not conducting an alcohol or drug test on Zimmerman, as is standard practice in a homicide probe, among other alleged missteps. And a witness has said that a law enforcement officer “corrected” her when she said she heard Martin screaming for help. Lee had emerged as a focal point of the criticism.
Zimmerman, a white Hispanic, was patrolling the streets of a gated community in Sanford on Feb. 26, when he spotted Martin and told a police dispatcher that a “black male” was acting “suspicious.” Zimmerman, 28, ignored a warning from the dispatcher not to pursue Martin, and a violent confrontation ensued, leaving Martin dead.
JSAIS: Temporarily is not enough, he must lose his position! If Police chief, Bill Lee, had lost a son the way the Martin’s lost theirs, Zimmerman would have been thrown under the jail, period! My question is who are the laws made to protect, really? Why didn’t at least one officer involved in this case step up and say, “Hey this is not right”? Outside of how one may feel personally at the end of the day those officers had a job to do. No one did it. The law cannot protect their unprofessionalism. I’m a nurse I have to treat everyone the same and I do. I don’t want to know if you raped you mother, because I have to take care of you with the same respect and with the same professionalism as if you were Mother Theresa. Every officer involved in Trayvon’s case needs to lose their job!
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ParadigmShft 