Police Chief of Sanford, Florida ‘no confidence’ in Trayvon Martin case

Police Chief Billy Lee, the man leading the investigation into the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin has been asked to step down. During an intense special meeting regarding the death of the unarmed teen, who was shot and killed by a self-appointed neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, the Sanford city commissioners conducted a vote of “no confidence” against Lee. There was a three of five vote against the chief, who has been in office less than a year. The decision is now up to the city manager, whether or not to let go of Lee.

After the vote, Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett said, “The unknown in a tragedy will make the heart do crazy things, and we haven’t done a good job of getting out in front of that. I have confidence in him in a lot of ways, and don’t have confidence in him in some ways.” The “no confidence” vote came after Triplett was obliged to answer some tough questions from neighborhood residents and the media, during an NAACP meeting meant to address allegations of police misconduct in the community. In response to a question from ABC News about the investigation into Martin’s death, Triplett said, “If there were mistakes made we are going to act accordingly.” Many people, especially Martin’s parents, believe that Sanford authorities failed to launch a thorough investigation from the start. Martin was a 17-year-old African-American, who was carrying a bag of Skittles, ice tea, and his cell phone, when he was shot and killed on February 26 by a 28-year-old white male, Zimmerman. He has not been charged or arrested for the murder of the innocent teen.