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Justice Dept Team Aims to Soothe Sanford Tensions in Teen Shooting


Behind the scenes this week, Sanford officials and community leaders are meeting with a US Department of Justice team trained in defusing socially sensitive situations. The Community Relations Service has come to town for the Trayvon Martin case, as the investigation picks up speed and the story of the teen's death spreads.

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[Image: View from the center of the crowd at Al Sharpton's "Justice for Trayvon" Rally]

About 8,000 demonstrators packed into a downtown Sanford park Thursday for a rally hosted by civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton. Other speakers included TV Judge Greg Mathis, Martin Luther King III, Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett, Congresswoman Corrine Brown, and the family of slain 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Martin was returning to a family member's home after walking to a nearby convenience store for snacks. He was spotted by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer for the gated community. Zimmerman called 911 to report Martin as a suspicious person, but by the time police arrived, he’d confronted and fatally shot the unarmed teen. Zimmerman is claiming self-defense.

Many of the speakers at Thursday's rally discussed the case’s new developments – the police chief's decision to step aside temporarily and the governor's appointment of a special prosecutor. Demonstrator Troy Jackson thinks those are good choices...for a start.

“I would like for the chief of police to be fired or resign, whichever he chooses, as long as he’s not in a position where he can make decisions, and I would like a formal investigation into this, so whatever went wrong here can be avoided in the future,” says Jackson.

Her sentiments were shared by many in the crowd and on the dais.

Disagreements between a community and law enforcement can sometimes lead to dialogue, or disaster, says Orlando civil rights attorney Shayan Elahi. He says the US Justice Department created the Community Relations Service, or CRS, to encourage everyone involved to keep things peaceful.

“They were established out of the Civil Rights Act,” explains Elahi. “The idea was for them to go into different areas where there was racial tension going on and bring both sides – and all sides – together and sort of mediate.”

The Department of Justice says CRS members were in Sanford Thursday. They met with Trayvon Martin’s family and separately with Sanford community leaders. That group included the organizer of Sharpton’s rally, Dr L. Ronald Durham of Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. 

“Generally, when they send people from the Department of Justice, they want to ensure that the city government is following the correct procedures, that people are being given all of the assistance that they need in a case like this,” says Durham.

Civil rights attorney Elahi says CRS members traveled through the south in the early 1960’s, explaining the mechanics of school desegregation to reluctant education officials. The division’s scope has expanded from there.

“Now it includes not only race, but also gender bias issues and issues involving all sorts of social situations where at least the federal government thinks things can get out of hand,” he says.

Pastor Durham says the interest of the federal Department of Justice is reassuring to people concerned about this case. With no arrest so far, both local residents and national figures say they're not sure police conducted a thorough investigation into Martin’s death.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown addressed that at the rally. “I don’t feel the system has been fair,” she told protesters. “And we can’t change the outcome, but we can make sure that the system is fair, and that we are treated fairly.”

The Sanford city council meets Monday night. Another big turnout is expected.

 

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