By Daniel Trotta
SANFORD, Fla., April 1 (Reuters) – Attorneys for the family
of slain black teenager Trayvon Martin are asking the U.S.
Justice Department to review reports that prosecutors undermined
a police investigation of shooter George Zimmerman by overruling
a detective who wanted to charge him.
The Justice Department’s civil rights division had already
agreed to review the local Florida investigation into the
racially charged case that has riveted the country. Waves of
demonstrations have called for Zimmerman’s arrest.
Lawyers for Martin’s family are preparing a formal request
that the federal government also investigate the specific report
that state attorney prosecutors interfered with a homicide
detective who wanted to charge Zimmerman with manslaughter.
“We are asking the Justice Department to investigate that,”
attorney Benjamin Crump, who has been retained by the Martin
family as it pressures authorities to arrest Zimmerman, told
Reuters late Saturday. “We are concerned about interference in
the investigation.”
Zimmerman, 28, who is half white and half Hispanic, was a
neighborhood watch captain who shot dead the 17-year-old in a
gated community on Feb. 26 after following him upon considering
him suspicious.
Zimmerman has disappeared from public view but his father
and brother have come to his defense in media interviews, saying
Martin attacked Zimmerman and Zimmerman feared for his life when
he shot the unarmed teen.
Police declined to arrest him, citing Florida’s “Stand Your
Ground” law, which permits citizens to use deadly force when
they feel threatened with death or great bodily harm.
Sanford police detective Chris Serino, unconvinced by
Zimmerman’s story of self-defense, wanted to charge him with
manslaughter but was overruled by the office of State Attorney
Norm Wolfinger, the prosecutor whose district includes the city
of Sanford, ABC News reported on Tuesday.
Wolfinger has declined all comment since removing himself
from the case on March 22. Governor Rick Scott named a special
prosecutor, Angela Corey, to replace Wolfinger on the Trayvon
Martin investigation. Corey has yet to say if she intends to
charge Zimmerman, who remains free but in hiding.
A law enforcement source who has been informed by Sanford
police investigators told Reuters that Serino was eager to make
a case but encountered resistance from the prosecutor.
“Chris would have made a recommendation for manslaughter but
Norm Wolfinger’s office wanted it to be a slam dunk,” the source
said. “They don’t want to hear that this is wrong or that is
wrong with the case. That’s the way this county does business.”
A separate report by TheGrio.com, unconfirmed by Reuters,
said Wolfinger left his home the Sunday night of the shooting to
meet with Sanford police in person.
“Why did he get out of his bed and go to the police station
that night and overrule the lead investigator?” Crump said. “It
doesn’t fit well.”
Crump said Justice Department lawyers investigating the case
invited him to provide relevant updates, and that his team would
forward its request soon.
Federal authorities could step into the case if they believe
the state investigation is lacking, and the Justice Department
periodically takes an interest in matters where there is a
potential civil rights violation.
(Editing by Vicki Allen)
