SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Saying he's lost the trust of officials, a city manager fired a central Florida police chief who was criticized for his agency's initial investigation of Trayvon Martin's shooting death at the hands of a neighborhood watch volunteer.

Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte said in a Wednesday statement that he relieved Chief Bill Lee of duty because he "determined the Police Chief needs to have the trust and respect of the elected officials and the confidence of the entire community."

"We need to move forward with a police chief that all the citizens of Sanford can support," Bonaparte said. "I have come to this decision in light of the escalating divisiveness that has taken hold of the city."

The initial lack of an arrest following the death of Martin, an unarmed black teenager, by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in February led to protests across the nation and spurred a debate about race and the laws of self-defense. Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is from Peru.

The local prosecutor recused himself from the case, prompting Gov. Rick Scott to appoint special prosecutor Angela Corey, who charged Zimmerman in April with second-degree murder. The 17-year-old Martin was fatally shot following a Feb. 26 altercation with Zimmerman, who claims self-defense and has pleaded not guilty.

Lee took a leave of absence in March and offered his resignation in April. The city council rejected Lee's resignation by a 3-2 vote. Several council members indicated they wanted to let a Department of Justice review of the police investigation play out before making a final decision.

In a statement, Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Martin's parents, said the parents respected the city manager's decision.

In May, Rick Myers took over as Sanford's interim police chief, saying he wanted to heal the emotional wounds caused by Martin's death. He has said he would reach out to people in Sanford who feel they've been ignored by the police.

Bonaparte said he had been in contact with the Police Executive Research Forum about the search for a successor to Lee.

"I believe that there are many law enforcement officials who will find accepting the opportunity to serve as Sanford's Police Chief a welcome challenge for their careers", the city manager said. "I expect the search for a new chief to take several months."

Lee will get three months of severance and one week's salary, in addition to any earned time off, under his contract.

"I wish Chief Lee all the best in his future endeavors," Bonaparte said.

___

Associated Press writer Errin Haines contributed to this report from New Orleans.

they are starting to see the real picture here now... like i have been saying, an overzealous security guard killing an innocent kid...

I read a bit on the trial this morning. they had Zimmerman recreate what happened. According to what he said, the kid was slamming his head into concrete repeatedly,and he feared for his life.

if he really feared for his life, he would have waited in the car for the police to get there... the kid was just walking home, not bothering anyone, talking on the phone to his girlfriend... why did zimmerman need to confront him in the first place?

He didn't, he had been stalking the kid. One of my biggest things though, when this first happened, is that he had made quite a few 911 calls claiming he was neighborhood watch and there were suspicious people in his neighborhood. So obviously the police were aware(or should have been) there was a problem with him and that he was a one man vigilante. It could have been prevented and should have been.

i think the police covered up / left out some things during the time right after the shooting...for starters, he was never given a drug test, which should be mandatory when you shoot someone to death...

I thought I read that he was? An alcohol test too?


Or maybe that was the boy

no, it was just the boy... zimmerman admitted to having some prescription meds, but no tests were ever done on him.

hmm, well i would have thought that would have been done when he was arrested? Overall,it looks like another big police screw up. So many things that SHOULD have been done,or could have done, by the police and Zimmerman, and that boy might still be alive today.

that was some of the problem, he wasn't arrested until 3 weeks after the shooting. he was brought in for questioning the day of the shooting, then released and no blood samples or drug tests were ever done. the police did not follow procedure on this case at all.

I understand the arrest, because often times the prosecutors want to be sure they have a 'case' before they arrest, so they want more time to collect the evidence

the point of the action against the sherrif seems to be he lost the public trust,, which is usually why people in elected positions end up entering and leaving office,, but usually there is a vote that discloses that loss,,,,

he wasn't a sheriff, he was a police chief... not an elected official

yes, thanx for the correction

there is no election for the police chief, but he is expected to maintain a trust and respect or be 'fired',,,,

Not true, nothing to fear until it got serious.

You mean the punk a$$ drug dealing gang banging thug? Zimmerman should be given a medal not jail.

a jury will decide

and maybe we will see 'proof' of any of the above allegations, or evidence he had ever PHYSICALLY harmed or killed someone BEFORE to warrant applauding a citizen imposed death penalty

perhaps we can not merely kill drug dealers but drug users as well as 'social' drug users who share for free,,, like Bush allegedly was and probably many prominent,, non urban, adults are,,,,,

yeah, like someone following you , who upon closer view, you realize has a gun,,,,?


I know, I probably SHOULD do the non thug thing and wait around to SEE what the intentions were, but I probably would be feeling something was 'serious' right about then too

especially with an adult, who NEVER bothers to identify THEMSELF but follows me to insist that I do,,,


perhaps treyvon might receive a posthumous murder for putting fear into the heart of a bully and documented/accused wife beater,,,,

or perhaps a JURY should be able to see the evidence on BOTH sides , instead of the empty allegations, and decide for themself,,,