Trayvon Martin Case: Martin Family Lawyers Allege Police Chief And Prosecutor Overruled Affidavit

Trayvon Martin's family attorneys alleged that Sanford officials met hours after the teen died to discuss overruling a police detective who prepared an affidavit to arrest Zimmerman, CNN reports.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Martin family said Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, and State Attorney Norm Wolfinger met the night of the shooting and ignored a detective's advice to arrest the neighborhood watch volunteer.

As the story gained national attention, Wolfinger removed himself from the investigation. Shortly afterward Lee stepped down from his position temporarily.

According to the Miami Herald, local police went to the Seminole State Attorney with a request to file charges and the police report labeled the case as "homicide/negligent manslaughter." On Tuesday, Martin family attorney Jasmine Rand insisted Wolfinger and Lee met to overrule the decision to charge Zimmerman.

Wolfinger denied the lawyers' accusation in a statement Monday, saying that no "such meeting or communication occured."

"I am outraged by the outright lies contained in the letter by Benjamin Crump," he said.

The Sanford police department has been the focus of withering criticism for its handling of the initial investigation. The case has become a flashpoint in the national debates over racial profiling and gun control laws. Martin was black. Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Peruvian.

On Wednesday evening, special prosecutor Angela Corey, who took over the investigation, announced Zimmerman had been charged with second-degree murder and taken into custody. A day later, he appeared in court, and although he did not enter a plea, he is expected to plead not guilty. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

According to CNN, FBI agents were in Sanford on Tuesday, conducting interviews for their civil rights investigation of the case. They have spoken with Frank Taaffe, one of Zimmerman's most vocal supporters, and the 16-year-old girl who Martin was on the phone with shortly before the fatal confrontation.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the department will act decisively if it finds evidence that the teen's civil right were criminally violated.

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Comments

[Natalie Dalton]

11:01 AM on 07/24/2012

There are definitely a lot of differing opinions about this topic. I for one have don't feel like I have all the information to decide who was right and who was wrong. I just hope the family lawyers on the case can do give justice to whomever deserves it. (http://www.mcmurraylawoffice.com/site/practices/family_law)

[Kathy Jurado]

01:16 AM on 06/21/2012

Today I read about a four year old that was forgotten in a car all day into the evening, out in Kentucky. The father forgot to drop the toddler off at daycare and the child died from this neglect. The Coronor declared it an accident. No charges have been filed, yet. An innocent child suffered to death because his father forgot he was in the car......

[SnazCASTRO]

09:31 PM on 04/15/2012

http://youtu.be/LEmJLkQcNk8 THINGS SHOULD BE DONE BETTER WHEN IT COMES TO JUSTICE.......... A YOUNG BOY WAS KILLED AND IT TOOK ALMOST 3 MONTHS FOR SOMETHING TO BE DONE THATS NOT EVEN RIGHT .... NOW THEY WANT SECOND DEGREE WHEN IT SHOULD BE CAPITAL MURDER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Yolanda Jackson]

12:33 AM on 04/21/2012

Your right Snazcastro, it is sad, but it is how the system always worked for Minorities or the poor. The justice system was created for the rich and the white. there is no justice for we the people of America..sad!

[Curlinda]

09:34 PM on 04/14/2012

I feel the the police chief and state attorney who overruled the initial request for an arrest by the lead detective on this case should also be arrested for interfering with a police investigation, obstruction of justice, and tampering with evidence. They did not collect any dna samples from Zimmerman the night of the shooting,did not test him for gun powder residue, did not take the clothes he had on for future evidence, did not conduct a drug test, did not do a thorough investigation, the list goes on and on. Zimmerman should not have to go down by himself, they should take down the whole operation no matter who it is. I'm glad Zimmerman was finally arrested. Now lets see justice get served.

[Yolanda Jackson]

12:23 AM on 04/21/2012

Agreed,because it shows that the police did not care, if it was a white boy it would be different trust me, why are we not holding the police responsible, I would have deal with Zimmerman later but I would have been in the butt of the police department, they should have been charge with murder also

[SleepingProphet]

12:38 PM on 04/14/2012

Why do crackers crumble?

[babybelle]

01:06 PM on 04/14/2012

Why did Zimmermans father bail him out of trouble instead of enabling him when Georgie bot assaulted a cop ? h

[bg3]

08:41 PM on 04/14/2012

It was an alcohol agent. Or did u know that?

[didiceman]

10:43 PM on 04/14/2012

so what your saying is that it's ok to not like the cops who didn't arrest zimmerman for the incident with trayvon, but yet the cops were right when zimmerman assaulted them in a previous altercation, so you like those cops.
please people, can you make up your mind already!
it's either you like the cops or you don't like the cops. which is it cause your confusing me.

[SleepingProphet]

11:31 AM on 04/14/2012

Today's music video to help edumakate the apologists...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am9BqZ6eA5c

[didiceman]

11:28 AM on 04/14/2012

aw my poor son.
and now she wants a paycheck from the city.
isn't it something how MONEY is a cure for all.
money is the root of all evil, and you can clearly see that's what they are going after.
i originaly cared about this womans feelings at first, but now that has changed for me because i can now see that they are going for the gold prize in this horrible situation. if she didn't care about money, she would only be interested in justice for her son, and not worry about suing the police department which is now going to happen.
just like that song, "money, money money money"

[SleepingProphet]

12:35 PM on 04/14/2012

Beware of the hand
When it's comin' from the left
I ain't trippin' just watch ya step
Can't truss it
An I judge everyone, one by the one
Look here come the judge
Watch it here he come now

By the other hand swingin' the rope
Wearin' red, white and blue Jack and his crew
The guy's authorized beat down for the brown
Man to the man, each one so it teach one
Born to terrorize sisters and every brother
One love who said it
I know Whodini sang it
But the hater taught hate

[didiceman]

10:47 PM on 04/14/2012

roses are red
violets are blue
this poem makes no sense
and niether do you!

[whalepeace]

08:07 PM on 04/14/2012

Great ignorance and sickness of heart, didiceman.

When someone wrongfully shoots your child to death, or when a worker dies because the company skimped on safety or when a drunk driver leaves you a paraplegic, the only justice, the only recompense our law allows is to sue for money damages. You cannot get your loved one or your limb back, your loss can not be righted in time or eternity.

The only way to try to prevent the wrong and the evil and the deadly from happening again is to sue for damages. Because in this country, money is what we worship and money is the only thing that moves the forces of the powerful.

There was a Midwest town where the police were brutal and racist and had been beating on and brutalizing black citizens for years. Finally, one abused citizen lawyered up, sued the cops, sued the city, and won a large money judgment. Thereafter, the police chief and sex cops were fired and things got better. They were fired because the city's insurer demanded that the city fire the bad cops or lose their insurance. Lawsuits improve things.

You must have a very ugly heart to think that money will replace Trayvon or compensate his loss. I am sure Trayvon's parents would give anything to have him back alive.

[didiceman]

09:59 PM on 04/14/2012

you can talk all the shi- you want. but the truth of the matter is, every time something like this happens, someone gets sued for money and they walk away like nothing ever happened. how come i read that they put a patten on the name just so they could sell t-shirts? that ain't about making money?
if the shoe fits

[Trust God]

10:37 PM on 04/14/2012

@whalepeace:


[ You must have a very ugly heart ]

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke about people what that type of mindset. And defined it perfectly when he said,


“Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's/woman's sense of values and his/her objectivity. It causes him/her to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.”

F& F u.

[Eccentricism]

11:01 AM on 04/14/2012

The Sanford Police department has handled this case in a very strange manner. They waited three days to notify the parents when they had direct access to his cell phone and ID, took what the shooter said at face value and released him based on that, had the victim drug tested instead of the shooter, and conducted a seemingly rushed "investigation" of the shooting which then had to be handled by the FBI. What did the FBI find a month later that they couldn't find the night of the shooting?

[PAsteelers]

07:48 PM on 04/14/2012

Sandford police was tring to cover up evidence and make it all go away. Happily, they were unsuccessful. God has a way of bringing stuff to light that others try to hide.

[Yolanda Jackson]

12:28 AM on 04/21/2012

Agree, like they cover up in most or all cases in American when it comes to minorities they do a lackadaisical job, and yet they want to get on camera as if they did their best b's we as minorities know the real deal,most white People feed into the lie that benefits them

[Yolanda Jackson]

12:31 AM on 04/21/2012

my biggest beef is why chase after someone that you thought was such a thug, let the cops handle that, but NO! he wanted to be rent-a-cop and the police department took up for him and now talking about they could not arrest him because of the stand your ground law, no they did not arrest him because he was white and kill a black man, that is all it is America problem is that they are afraid of the Black Man why? because they are afraid that all the raping and killing they did to our ancestors will come back to haunt them sad!

[gochenaur8]

10:39 AM on 04/14/2012

I feel that the detective that prepared the affidavit for arrest, has come forth to the familys lawyers and provided them with that information or the lawyers would not be going after the Chief and the Prosecutor who overruled the affidavit. I also get a hint that the Justice Department has reason to believe from their investigation that the murder was in part due to hate. Just have to set back and see what takes place, but as surley as the world turns, something will happen.

[didiceman]

11:36 AM on 04/14/2012

only the black people think it was a hate crime. it's obvious.
as far as the evidence, they already said that the 911 call was not a racial slur. just something i read and thought to let you know.

[NHGranite]

08:31 AM on 04/15/2012

can the detective do that? I hope the truth comes out, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I doubt it.

[Thigpen3]

08:06 AM on 04/14/2012

There are rumors that there is a 911 tape that proves there were two shots fired. Any truth or links to that?

[NHGranite]

09:22 AM on 04/14/2012

One of the tapes recorded that I believe, but could it have been an echo sound? THe most horrendous tape included the screams of what sounds more like a younger man calling for help, I am not sure if anyone can tell that for sure. I still don't know where Trayvon Martin's cell phone is, and why police didn't use that or any other resource to identify his body and notify his parents right away.

[darlinsass]

09:50 AM on 04/14/2012

I'm sure the FBI has checked the tape against both voices. Your right the sound of his screams were horrible. I wish I hadn't listened to it. Once was too much.

Trayvon also had his wallet with him, and they had his name and address on the police report. Yet they listed him as a John Doe.

[Eccentricism]

11:02 AM on 04/14/2012

There have been two vocal analysts that have said that it isn't Zimmerman's voice. Also, the screams were immediately silenced after the shot went off. It seems to be Trayvon screaming for help for around 40 seconds, then getting shot anyway.

[Trust God]

12:33 AM on 04/15/2012

@Thigpen3:

Good question. I was wondering if anybody else noticed. There's one over at "The Grio" blog. I believe it's caller #4, fthe emale caller you hear repeatedly telling someone named Jeremy to get back inside.

I listened to all the 911 calls that Mayor Triplett put on Sanford's website (at least 5x, every call GZ ever made while on watch, seems like it took me forever. I know, I really do need to get a life LOL!). The 911 calls, affidavit, and few other items have been removed from the website since the investigation started.

Caller #4 at "The Grio" immediately caught my attention. Actually, I heard what sound like 3 shots. I hear a male voice in the house telling the caller "there's a gunshot', before you actually hear a gunshot.

The dispatcher seems to be asking the same questions over and over, as if their vocal chords got stuck. It sounded similar to 45 records or LP's when they would start skipping. I know the old schoolers remember those days (and I'm probably telling my age LOL!!!).

The dispatcher finally asks her one more time, how many shots did she hear, and she said "just one".

I concluded, rather than obtain the tapes the proper way via SPD Communications Dept., somebody over at "The Grio" probably downloaded the calls, and did a sloppy job. The tapes are public info.

I hope this helps some. Go over to "The Grio", come back and tell us what think.

[nonethewyzzer]

08:05 AM on 04/14/2012

I wonder when we're going to see Serino's affadavit.

That document seems to be a pivotal part of the evidence. Although other documents have been released, this one seems to be firmly under lock and key.

Wonder why?

[ApolloSpeaks2U]

09:27 AM on 04/14/2012

Serino's manslaughter affidavit says that Zimmrman didn't murder Martin, that Martin was the criminal aggressor in the conflict, and though Martin was assaulting and injuring Zimmerman Zimmerman was wrong to use deadly force to end the conflict.

[nonethewyzzer]

09:54 AM on 04/14/2012

Terrific! Since you've seen the affadavit, would you please provide a link to the document so I can see it, too?

[darlinsass]

10:03 AM on 04/14/2012

You have seen the affidavit?

[darlinsass]

10:12 AM on 04/15/2012

I know one person that has seen it. Your right to. They snatched it away fast.

[Trust God]

08:18 PM on 04/16/2012

@darlinsass

[They snatched it away fast.]

Yes they did. Well, I'm glad Mayor Triplett still has his job after he overruled Billy Lee, and put that extensive information on their website. Still not aware of any links though. I retrieved all my information directly from Sanford's website.

In fact, they had an entire section dedicated to the murder. They had a call log of all the calls GZ made, which consisted of many pages, which I also printed off, and put in my "Z" files.They also had all the 911 calls made by GZ, the EMT transmission tape and reports on their website.

The affidavit, not to be confused with the 2 police reports, does not look anything like a police report, it will clearly say affidavit, was on Sanford's website, and was unsigned by Wolf. Wouldn't surprise me if a supoena was issued to have "The Grio" and similar websites to remove the 911 tapes.

[Scott-Michael Anderson]

01:53 AM on 04/14/2012

What a CRUMP!

[StopTeaGOP]

01:30 AM on 04/14/2012

Now that Zimmerman is in jail; however, the two crooks, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, and State Attorney Norm Wolfinger should be made his cell mates.

[Morpheus Flux]

01:55 AM on 04/14/2012

Agreed. They were more than willing to see zimmerman free to kill again.

[nonethewyzzer]

07:52 AM on 04/14/2012

... and I don't for a minute believe that their sole motivation was that Zimmerman was their 'buddy'.

It goes much, much deeper than that.

[Trust God]

03:17 AM on 04/14/2012

@StopTeaGOP:

And don't forget about Sgt. Anthony Raimondo. He was the first ranking officer to arrive at the Trayvon Martin shooting. He is also the cop who initiated the cover up of the beating of a black homeless man named Sherman Ware, who was beat into a coma by Justin Collison, son of SPD Lt. Chris Collison.

This man should have been fired. What in the world was he doing at the murder scene? I really do believe he had a heavy hand in this cover up as well. This is no a coincidence.


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/police-lieutenants-son-investigated-attacking-homeless-man/story?id=12507834

[darlinsass]

09:53 AM on 04/14/2012

Raimondo also has 4 verified complaints against him. Not only did he rush the kid away, he didn't even see if the homeless man needed help. This guy needs his walking papers, the sooner the better.

[swsmith45]

11:32 PM on 04/13/2012

Unfortunately Zimmerman will never get a fair trial, and Trayvon will likely never get justice. The massive public outcry has so tainted every facet of this tragedy Justice will probably never be served on either side, no matter who is guilty or who is innocent. Factions not associated with either Zimmerman or the Martin family have hijacked this incident for their own purposes from the start. This just gets more and more sad every day. For whatever reason, people just can't leave things alone to even see if there might have been legal action taken, but felt the need to force the issue with everything up to and including the threat of riots. Think about it, when does threatening to commit a crime ever seem like the right thing to do.

[[e-mail]]

08:50 AM on 04/14/2012

If it wasn't for the massive public outcry there wouldn't have been an arrest. Provide a link in which leaders were calling for riots. Don't lose faith in our justice system. Keep in mind Angela Corey is privy to evidence not yet public.people believe GZ was defending himself according to his story.people in favor of arresting him, the majority felt manslaughter would be the proper charge. Clearly Corey has seen something in the evidence that warrants murder2.and it's not because she thinks she can get a manslaughter plea deal.if it was manslaughter she would've brought those charges.

[swsmith45]

01:23 PM on 04/14/2012

And of course it has nothing to do with person or persons unknown firing at Sanford police vehicles whether occupied or not. Or illegally blocking access to a law enforcement center. My faith in the justice system is not in question; my faith, for lack of a better term, in human nature is. I can't tell from your picture but I assume you are old enough to remember the outcome of most other socially charged trials in our nation. Many ended poorly for their communities, no matter the verdict. And I put the question back to you. You state that Corey has evidence that warrants murder in the 2nd, yet you say there would not have been an arrest without the public outcry. So, I suppose I am to believe that even with evidence she would have illegally let Zimmerman walk if there had not been such a public outcry.

[Trust God]

08:38 PM on 04/16/2012

@msone4life

Like you, I have not read one report of black leaders calling for riots. In fact, after GZ's arrest, Rev. Sharpton reminded the public that this is not the time "to be high-fiving". He, along with the Fulton/Martin family have always encouraged peaceful protest, and denounced any violence.

You are so right about the charges. For "The Closer" to file manslaughter, that would imply that she believes her client was a contributory factor in his own murder. Now why would she do that?

Anyone seriously interested in the charges and what they mean should check the Florida Statutes.

Consider yourself F&F

[NHGranite]

09:27 AM on 04/14/2012

If there are riots in reaction to this case. who gets blamed for the entire thing? Blacks. For making too much of a horrendous situation that was handled very badly - those actors will not be tried. I predict Zimmerman walks on Stand Your Ground. NAR wins.

[didiceman]

11:44 AM on 04/14/2012

isn't it NRA ?

[PAsteelers]

07:56 PM on 04/14/2012

good thing your predictions mean nothing.

[UptheStairs]

07:34 PM on 04/13/2012

On one hand, Trayvon may not have committed any crime. He had a man pointing a loaded pistol at him. He had to stand his ground. In doing so, he was carrying out the law. Therefore, Zimmerman should be guilty of shooting an unarmed, though non-official, officer of the law.

[psuffield]

11:50 PM on 04/13/2012

I don't see your rationality for that line of thinking

[Morpheus Flux]

01:56 AM on 04/14/2012

Then you are most certainly blind.

[Escalonz]

12:28 AM on 04/14/2012

He had a man pointing a loaded pistol at him.
I wasn't aware of this as Zimmerman must have included that info in the police report? His story is the only one I know of or was there another witness?