Sanford Police Chief Resigns 'Temporarily' over Trayvon Martin Shooting

One day after a majority of the Sanford City Council voted for a measure expressing no confidence in him," Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee announced he is temporarily resigning over his handling of the shooting death of a black teenager by a white man.

"My role as the leader of this agency has become a distraction for this organization," Lee said at a news conference Thursday, according to The Lookout news site. "It is apparent that my involvement in this matter is overshadowing the process. I have come to the decision that I must temporarily remove myself from the position of police chief of the city of Sanford."

Citing Floridas Stand Your Ground law that allows deadly force by those who are attacked or threatened with attack, Lees officers did not arrest Sanford resident George Zimmerman, 27, after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin, 17, of Miami on Feb. 26.

Zimmerman, captain of the neighborhood patrol in his gated community, called police to report the teen was behaving suspiciously. Against the direction of the police he followed Martin, at first in his vehicle, then on foot.

When a confrontation ensued, he shot the teenager to death and told police he was acting in self-defense. Zimmerman was neither detained nor was his (permitted) gun confiscated.

The cause has drawn national attention and is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the FBI and the Department of Justice.