walking while black - Trayvon Martin

[Lady Cop]

SANFORD --
News13
The parents of a teenager shot and killed in a local neighborhood spoke about their son's death Friday with a very different account of how police handled the investigation than we first heard.

Trayvon Martin was shot to death in late February by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford. The 17-year-old was unarmed as he was returning to a relative's home from a nearby store.

That volunteer, George Zimmerman, has claimed he acted in self-defense, and has not been charged with a crime.

The Florida State Attorney's Office is reviewing the case.

Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, along with two witnessees, spoke at a news conference.

Witness Mary Cutcher said she called police four times about the shooting and was told not to worry. Cutcher also said the lead detective has yet to call her back.

The Sanford Police Department issued the following statement Thursday.

WFTV aired a report in which a witness in the Trayvon Martin case was interviewed. According to the witness she said police only took a two or three sentence statement from her. Actually officers who were canvassing the neighborhood looking for potential witnesses, the evening of the shooting, contacted her and she said she did not want to get involved. She did write a statement, for her roommate, and that was only after several attempts by officers who were asking for her information.

Her statements during the WFTV interview are inconsistent with her sworn testimony to police investigators. According to investigators notes she was called on February 29^th, March 1^st, and on March 2^nd when she and her roommate finally came in to be interviewed. The information she provided in her sworn statements regarding the actions of Zimmerman were consistent with the information Zimmerman provided.