Trayvon Martin shooting 1 year later: Sanford anticipates Zimmerman trial, hopes for closure
theGRIO REPORT - The shooting death of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012 marked a turning point for many black residents of Sanford...
Among the chief current complaints of black residents has been the response to shootings in predominantly black sections like Goldsboro and Georgetown – places far removed from the gated community where Martin died, and which residents have long complained are largely neglected by police.
“I think there was a sense, especially in the African-American community, that the police were not taking them seriously – that they were not giving them the same level of service that they were in the non-black community,” Bonaparte said. “We’re sensitive to the perception that our residents have about our police department.”
To turn that perception around, and to respond to what he characterized as an “increased number of shootings” in parts of the city, Bonaparte says the city has created “neighborhood response units” – smaller units of ten officers who can respond quickly to reports of shooting incidents. “We’re showing a much more visible police presence” in an effort to improve public safety, Bonaparte said.
He also cited the creation of a blue ribbon panel on police community relations which meets every two weeks – part of a nine-point plan recommended by Justice Department officials who came to the city at the height of the Trayvon Martin protests, to talk with community and city leaders about a way forward in improving police-community relations.
Rev. Valerie Houston, a prominent local pastor whose Allen Chapel AME church has served as a home base for black community activism and outcry over the Martin shooting, co-chairs the blue ribbon panel, and says elements of the city’s multi-ethnic community have come together in the wake of the shootings.
“Sanford has changed in the fact that since the shooting of Trayvon Martin there have been many groups and different entities that are still working towards a common goal to improve the Sanford community as well as the police department, as well as mobilization of the ministers,” Houston said.
Turner Clayton, who heads the local NAACP in Sanford, calls Smith’s hiring “a huge start.” And he, like Triplett, sees a silver lining for Sanford in the tragedy.
“Well it has definitely brought about a huge change,” Clayton said. “In fact, it brought about a huge awareness of things the black community had been complaining about for a number of years.”
Clayton said that before the Martin shooting, “no one wanted to believe any of the things the black community was saying” regarding strained relationships with police. “Of course, this particular case kind of brought that to the surface.”
John Wright, a retired Seminole County Sheriff, and a member of the city’s blue ribbon task force, agrees. “It’s been portrayed as if you don’t live here, there’s nothing wrong,” he said. “But that is not where we are.”
Wright said the task force accepted some of his recommendations to partner with neighboring police forces to tackle the higher crime rates in parts of the city. “I’m glad to report that things are looking a lot better.”
Next: ‘Everybody still talks about Trayvon Martin’
