In the wake of the Trayvon Martin killing, Sanford, Florida’s interim Police Chief Richard Myers said communities should “take a good, hard look at who is selected” for neighborhood watch programs. “Neighborhood watch is at work in literally thousands of neighborhoods across the country and with no problems whatsoever,” Myers told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Tuesday evening. “I think the problems emerge from who the person is and perhaps there’s a cause for communities to take a good, hard look at who is selected or who volunteers. Let’s not kill the concept because of one bad, really bad outcome.”
Myers, who began his career in the suburbs of Detroit and Chicago, took up the post on Friday. He is a former police chief from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Myers said he plans to help the department that has been broken and under scrutiny since the February 26 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed, by 28-year-old George Zimmerman. Myers said, “I’m here to help the community. There’s a lot of healing that has to take place. I’m here to help the department get some stability.”Myers’ predecessor, Billy Lee, was forced to step aside after a vote of no-confidence by Sanford city commissioners in April, clearing the path for Myers
