Crime & Safety

Rochester High Grad Named Police Chief in City of Trayvon Martin Case

Richard Myers will serve as interim leader of the police department in Sanford, FL.

A Rochester native has been hired as the interim police chief in Sanford, FL — the town that has been in the news since February, when neighborhood crime-watch volunteer George Zimmerman was arrested in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Richard Myers is a former deputy , county medical examiner investigator and Auburn Hills police officer, according to his public profile on LinkedIn. He is a graduate of and attended school at and Michigan State University, the profile stated.

Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte announced Myers' hiring Tuesday, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The newspaper reported that Myers will run the department for at least three months.

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The Sanford Police Department has been without a chief since March, when Bill Lee stepped aside as the police chief amid controversy surrounding the Martin case; Lee remains on paid leave, according to reports. The department has been widely criticized for not immediately arresting Zimmerman.

In a statement released by the city of Sanford, 57-year-old Myers said: "I intend on being an active leader, and there will be nothing interim about the need to move quickly to better understand the issues that the department and the community are facing."

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Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett praised Myers' hiring, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

"He is highly credentialed," Triplett told the newspaper.

Myers retired in November as police chief in Colorado Springs, CO, according to the Denver Post. He then became interim chief in Manitou Springs, CO.


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