Fellow Citizens:
There has been a lot of media attention to the recent incident where George Zimmerman shot and
killed Trayvon Martin. This is indeed a tragic situation and has caused a flood of questions and
strong emotions from within our community, the region and nation. On behalf of the employees
of the City of Sanford, Our deepest sympathy and prayers go out to the family and friends of
Trayvon Martin. As a father, I can only image the pain Trayvons family must be going though.
In an effort to continue to be as responsive as possible to the public seeking information on the
incident, I have asked Chief Lee to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked
questions regarding this matter. Below are his responses. Please understand that since this is
still an ongoing investigation, the Police Department is limited in what information it can
publicly release.
The City of Sanford is committed to insuring that justice is served and, therefore, the City of
Sanford has contacted the United States Attorney Generals Office for assistance in this matter.
The men and women of the Sanford Police Department extend our heartfelt sympathies to the
Martin family. This is indeed a tragic situation. The death of anyone due to violence, especially a
17 year old young man, is morally appalling. As this incident has generated a lot of media
attention, we wanted to provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
Why was George Zimmerman not arrested the night of the shooting?
When the Sanford Police Department arrived at the scene of the incident, Mr. Zimmerman
provided a statement claiming he acted in self defense which at the time was supported by
physical evidence and testimony. By Florida Statute, law enforcement was PROHIBITED from
making an arrest based on the facts and circumstances they had at the time. Additionally, when
any police officer makes an arrest for any reason, the officer MUST swear and affirm that he/she
is making the arrest in good faith and with probable cause. If the arrest is done maliciously and
in bad faith, the officer and the City may be held liable.
According to Florida Statute 776.032 :
776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for justifiable use of
force.
(1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is
justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for
the use of such force, unless the person against whom force was used is a law
enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting in the performance of
his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with
any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that
the person was a law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, the term criminal
prosecution includes arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the
defendant.
(2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the use of
force as described in subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for using
force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force that was used was
unlawful.
....
Thank you,
Norton N. Bonaparte, Jr., ICMA-CM
City Manager
March 19, 2012
http://www.sanfordfl.gov/investigation/docs/Zimmerman_Martin_shooting.pdf