The unacceptable excuse from the Sanford Police Department:Chief Bill Lee answers questions about in

[mfcorey1]

Chief Bill Lee answers questions about investigation into shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin

March 17 2012 at 1459 | 3182 views | 15 15 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend | print
On Feb. 26 Trayvon Martin, 17, of Miami, was returning to The Retreat at Twin Lakes when a neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, 28, shot and killed him. Following an investigation, police determined that Zimmerman was acting in self-defense when the shooting occured. Chief Bill Lee took the time to answer key questions for The Sanford Herald about the investigation and why the Sanford Police Department has not released many details surrounding the case. SPD has since forwarded the case to the State Attorney’s Office.

http://mysanfordherald.com/view/full_story/17920337/article-Chief-Bill-Lee-answers-questions-about-investigation-into-shooting-of-17-year-old-Trayvon-Martin?instance=home_news_2nd_left

[Warren Stupidity]

1. What a fucking farce.

Q why were the 911 tapes not initially released?
Honest Answer because they make the official story into a joke.

[Ganja Ninja]

2. I see the problem now.

The Sanford police department is incompetent starting from the top down.

[Little Star]

3. Thanks for that link. I had not seen that before...

Yeah right, sure Chief Lee: "Zimmerman’s statement was that he had lost sight of Trayvon and was returning to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by Trayvon."


The victim is the attacker and the attacker is the victim. WTF

[CanonRay]

9. Yeah, I can see this 140lb kid attacking a 240lb man

that works. If the Sanford PD is incompetent, it's deliberate.

[gkhouston]

13. A 240 lb man who probably already had a gun in his hand. n/t

[arthritisR_US]

15. The conversation Trayvon was having with

his girlfriend just before he was shot puts the lie to that assertion.

[HipChick]

4. they thought that their hokey PD dept would be able to cover up the story

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. Actually the answers are fairly good

1) Scene evidence matched the Zimmerman's story
2) State Attorney supported not releasing the tapes earlier
3) Neighbood Watch status is irrelevant
4) 911 call taker does not have police authority
5) Comms problem with the victims representatives
6) Media does not have all the facts.

Each of those taken by themselves could be seen as reasonable. However they seem a little to glib and well practiced when viewed as a whole. Someone has clearly been doing their homework on preparation for...

Point 6 though is key. We clearly do not have all the details though they are slowly slipping out. Media attention has really helped keep this story alive, but there have also been contradictions.

My opinion is that this shooting was uncalled for and that Zimmerman's account will be found to be fraudulent, and he will be charged.

[CanonRay]

10. Several questions:

How many shots were fired? From what distance and how far apart in time. At what angle did they strike the victim....was he standing, was he prone, was he facing the shooter? Were there defensive wounds? Why were there multiple shots at all? Were the bullets recovered? I have about a million more.

To call what Sanford PD did an "investigaiton" is a joke.

[frylock]

12. what happened to martin's cell phone?

why are witnesses stating that your officers attempted to coerce them into changing their accounts?

why wasn't zimmerman screened for drugs or alcohol while martin was?

[UnrepentantLiberal]

20. Why are the cops lying about what witnesses told them?

[ieoeja]

14. I thought there was only one shot. Which is actually more suspicious.

In real-life encounters police miss their intended target 70% of the time. A single shot kill suggests that the intended target was standing still wihle the killer took careful aim. Doesn't prove it. But goes with the odds.

And this jibes with witness accounts that Trey was pleading for his life before being shot.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

18. All excellent points

The reality is that we will have no idea if those questions and others were addressed in the investigation until most likely the trial.

While some may argue without those answers it is inappropriate to reach a conclusion, it is still hard to see this as anything but a murder when looking at the totality of what has been released.

[LynneSin]

6. When a dead body is found with no weapons on it - that is MURDER not self-defense

Seriously, was Martin going to pelt Zimmerman with skittles and spray him in the face with Arizona Ice Tea.

I understand Florida has this stupid "Stand Your Ground" law which basically gives a 'Get out of jail free' to anyone screaming SELF-DEFENSE. But to me, if you are going to scream self-defense you better have proof that the life you just ended had some sort of weapon on them. Had Martin been caring a gun or a switchblade then Zimmerman might have been able to claim 'self-defense'.

Clearly the child had no weapons and now we know Martin was also running AWAY from Zimmerman, another HUGE sign this is not self-defense.

But the moment that body showed there was no weapon on it a thorough investigation should be made to understand why an armed man would kill an unarmed child.

[slackmaster]

8. That's not how the law works. Police shoot unarmed suspects all the time.

A person can present a serious threat without a weapon.

Before I get dog-piled for "supporting" Zimmerman, let me say that I am not. His story doesn't add up. I think the shooting was unlawful and not protected by Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. I think the Sanford PD did a half-assed investigation, and I hope the state attorney and grand jury figure out what really happened.

[LynneSin]

11. A police has the proper training to decide when they should pull a gun and when they shouldn't

Doesn't mean that the police are perfect. But George Zimmerman's job was not a police officer and from what I've read he doesn't have any official neighborhood watch training. He was nothing more than a viligiant looking for an excuse to shoot his gun.

[slackmaster]

17. I don't want to get into a session of talking past each other. I'm making a very simple point.

In the abstract, not referring to the Zimmerman case at all:

An unarmed person can present a legitimate threat of great bodily injury or death. The fact that a person who attacks you is unarmed does not in any way alter the fact that you have a right to use a higher level of force to defend yourself.

[LynneSin]

19. You're missing the point

A police officer would have been able to easily distinguish between being physically attacked by another person (whether armed or unarmed) and a boy just walking home from the local mini-market. 'Stand Your Ground' laws are way too vague and will create more George Zimmermans in this world. Is this what you envisioned for the United States?

[slackmaster]

21. Any reasonable person of normal intelligence can tell the difference between a kid walking home...

...and someone attacking.

'Stand Your Ground' laws are way too vague and will create more George Zimmermans in this world. Is this what you envisioned for the United States?

I don't believe there is any way that George Zimmerman's actions will stand up to scrutiny even under Florida's rather liberal Stand Your Ground law. It's not a blanket immunity for anyone who simply claims that a deceased person was conducting some kind of attack. I think the Sanford PD has either deliberately turned the other cheek, or has misinterpreted what the law means with respect to this incident.

Stand Your Ground laws have been in place for many years. Properly applied, they're not really a radical extension of the protections that most states, including mine (California) give to people who defend themselves in their own homes.

[LynneSin]

23. If it stood up to Florida scrutiny then why is the US Justice department getting involved?

Just curious

[TheWraith]

24. He's saying it DOESN'T stand up to Florida scrutiny.

The only way this hasn't already ended in charges is that the local PD appear to be engaging in a coverup on Zimmerman's behalf.

[slackmaster]

25. I said I do NOT believe that Zimmerman's claim of self-defense will stand up to scrutiny

The US DoJ is getting involved because there is suspicion that Florida law enforcement and justice people aren't doing their jobs.

HTH

[JI7]

16. Zimmerman wasn't a police officer and Trayvon was not coming after him

[pinboy3niner]

7. People are mailing Skittles to the chief, demanding justice

CAN’T MARCH? HERE’S OTHER STUFF YOU CAN DO

Send bags of Skittles to the Sanford Chief of Police, demanding that George Zimmerman be brought to justice.

Chief, Bill Lee.
Sanford Police Station.
815 West 13th Street.
Sanford, Fl 32771.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12521542

[fascisthunter]

22. "neighborhood watch captain".... seriously?

Could they be any more dorkish?

[frylock]

26. wannabe neighborhood watch captain..

he is not registered with NW as their org has stated.