Just a brief update on events in Sanford.
From NBC Miami:
Police chief receives vote of no confidence over handling of Trayvon Martin case
The Sanford City Commission voted 3-2 that it had no confidence in Police Chief Bill Lee Jr. over his handling of the Trayvon Martin shooting Wednesday.
Velma Williams, the city’s only black commissioner, said she spent 15 years trying to bring together the black community and white community, and the Martin episode has taken an emotional toll.
“And now this. It’s a national embarrassment," she said.
The
no votes
City Commissioners Patty Mahany and Randy Jones argued against the no-confidence vote, saying the city needed to wait for the outcomes of a grand jury inquiry scheduled for April 10 and a Department of Justice investigation. "A rush to judgment in any situation is wrong," said Mahany, calling the no-confidence motion a "knee-jerk reaction."
Only the city manager, Bonaparte, can fire Lee or ask for his resignation, and he gave no indication he planned to do so. But as speaker after speaker, black and white, took to the microphone to question why Zimmerman had not been arrested, it was clear that Bonaparte faced pressure that showed no sign of diminishing.
Lawrence O'Donnell asked tough questions of Sanford's City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. on The Last Word:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news
Looks like it might be three more weeks before a grand jury will be convened.
The clock is ticking.
Trayvon died on Feb. 26.