The recent fight over Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee's resignation letter has shed light on the DoJ's actions, and inaction regarding the Trayvon Martin murder case.
George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer shot and killed the unarmed teen six weeks ago and was released from police custody the same night, claiming he acted in self-defense. Police chief Bill Lee backed the decision by Norm Wolfinger's state prosecutor office not to press charges.
A national outrage resulted, and after many peaceful protests and a millions strong petition campaign the governor of Florida acted, appointing a special prosecutor to act in the wake of Norm Wolfinger recusing himself from the case. On that same day, Attorney General Holder announced that the DoJ would also act to examine if Trayvon Martin's civil rights were violated by George Zimmerman. Many heralded this action by the DoJ as though it were news that a sweeping investigation into the entire case would be forthcoming. It is not.
This week, following the many subsequent events that included the special prosecutor Corey's filing of murder charges and the surrender and arraignment of admitted shooter George Zimmerman, the then police Chief Bill Lee submitted a letter of resignation to the city council of Sanford, who had placed Lee on paid leave after a no-confidence vote was given to him by the same elected body. This is a local political matter that many feel has a great significance on the larger issues at hand. Should the man who fought to justify the release of George Zimmerman on grounds of self-defense by invoking his rights under the controversial Stand Your Ground law be allowed to stay in his position, or at least retain his salary while he is on leave, or should the man resign so that the community may "move forward," in the words of the City Manager Norton Bonaparte, Jr. Police chief Bill Lee is caucasian, and City manger Boanparte is African American. A vote was held and the resignation was rejected by a margin of 3-2. Four city counselor and the mayor voted. Bonaparte is not an elected official so he has no vote.
http://www.bradenton.com/...
This excellently written article by Miami Herald reporter Frances Robles points out aspects of the case few have closely examined, namely opinions regarding the exact nature of the federal investigation that is taking place as the state moves forward to prosecute George Zimmerman for Murder in the second degree, following an indictment that deliberately leaves the issue of race out of the question.
SANFORD -- The Sanford City Commission refused to accept the resignation of its embattled police chief Monday, saying the law enforcement leader has a spotless record and deserves more time for the city to determine whether he bungled the Trayvon Martin probe.
A month after handing down a no-confidence vote against Chief Bill Lee, the same commission voted 3-2 to keep him on. Lee took a paid leave of absence last month after coming under fire for his handling of the investigation into Trayvon's killing.
This criticism of Bill Lee's actions included not only the original outrage of allowing the killer to sleep in his own bed, but the continued defense of his action as more and more questionable evidence surfaced about what really happened that night. The campaign of public pressure led to release of police recordings of Zimmerman's call, where his attitude seemed overly hostile and suspicious towards the teen from the start, and elements of which seem to contradict his reported version of events.
Zimmerman claimed self defense, and the Sanford Police publicly said there was no evidence to contradict his story. After a nationwide outcry, the governor named a special prosecutor from Jacksonville who later charged him with a first-degree felony and acknowledged that the lead investigator had requested an arrest all along.
This lead homicide investigator is one Chris Serino, whose decisions seem to lie at the heart of the controversy over the matter. He has not spoken to the press, although his opinion has been reported on citing those witnesses he spoke to during his investigation. They say he felt Zimmerman was lying in his statements, and that his story "doesn't pass the smell test," and that he will lose his case if charged.
The relationship between Lee and Trayvon's parents was rocky from the start. The family felt the police glossed over Zimmerman's criminal history and conducted a lackluster investigation to bolster the neighborhood volunteer's self defense claim.
After the shooting, the family learned Zimmerman had a 2005 felony arrest, which was dismissed after he took anger management classes. Lee chalked that up to miscommunication, but continued to be dogged by complaints that the department bungled the inquiry.
Several witnesses said detectives twisted their accounts of what happened. Attorneys wondered why Zimmerman was not tested for drugs and why police hadn't interviewed the girl who was talking to Trayvon on the phone when the altercation started. Unsubstantiated rumors spread that Zimmerman even got to take his gun home the night of the killing.
I'm quoting selected parts of this article out of order- it's worth reading in it's entirety. But the part that interests me most starts below, and speaks to the nature of the federal investigation.
While Zimmerman, strapped to a GPS tracking device, was ushered off to an undisclosed location, Lee offered his resignation. Lee made clear in a letter to the City Commission that he was stepping down under pressure.
That pressure came from City Manager Norton Bonaparte, Jr., who felt Lee needed to go for the city to "move forward." Bonaparte had repeatedly said he was not going to make any personnel decisions regarding the chief until an outside agency evaluated the department's handling of the investigation.
But on Monday, the city manager said he decided such an assessment would take too long, since most federal agencies "won't even touch" the case until after a criminal trial is concluded. He told the commission that if it wanted to keep Lee on, members needed to reverse their vote of no confidence.
"We need to keep going," Bonaparte said.
Mayor Jeff Triplett, who had initially voted no confidence, switched sides. The mayor decided to wait for the outside review, although he expressed doubt whether the polarizing chief could be an effective leader.
The mayor, city manager and two other commissioners who voted against the chief last month remained mostly silent when Commissioner Randy Jones asked: "Did Chief Lee make a mistake? Where did Chief Lee theoretically step in it?" Four weeks after Trayvon's death, the City Commission issued a vote of no confidence against Lee; a day later, he stepped down temporarily. He continued collecting his paycheck while on leave.
A change.org petition demanding that he be fired has 50,000 signatures -- while one demanding his return has another 3,000. Supporters distributed wristbands asking for him to be brought back, and a Facebook page was created in his honor.
I've been attempting to point this fact out for quite some time in diaries on this site: The feds are not focusing their investigation on the original questionable actions of authorities. Their mandate is to discover if George Martin violated Trayvon's civil rights, and their work will take time and likely produce little result. It's also not their goal to produce a detailed report on their findings in the midst of an ongoing state trial. They seem to be holding back until after the jury decides the fate of George Zimmerman. Local corruption, incompetence or racial bias in this matter on the part of police or Norm Wolfinger's part is not really in the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice, unless such action rises to the level of a hate crime, or a clear violation of civil rights. Angela Corey's special prosecutor position has given her a mandate to look into these matters, but her focus is on securing a conviction of the killer george Zimmerman. She needs the cooperation of the Sanford Police Department to do so, and has said nothing publicly but good things about them, and Bill Lee. She may have her own private opinion but I am not looking to her for the inside dope on how this case was handled the first time around. Instead, she works with the defense to seal the records of this case from the press and public.
Meanwhile, Norm Wolfinger has quietly announced he needs to spend more time with his family, and won't be running for re-election after 27 years in his post. He'll serve out his term on the state payroll and then retire to private practice. Police Chief Bill Lee keeps his salary while he is on leave, too. There is no credible, timely ongoing investigation into the potential incompetence, corruption or racial bias in the actions of these two men, who worked in concert to stymie the prosecution of George Zimmerman after the lead investigator Chris Serino recommended it. But most assume there is.
Two million people want justice here, and it looks like it is coming for George Zimmerman. But for the men who let him go… they are still cashing their paychecks.