‘Trayvon targets’ cop fired
A screengrab of a police surveillance video showing George Zimmerman after he was detained following the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
A Florida police sergeant brought images of slain teen Trayvon Martin to a gun range while on duty and used them as targets for shooting practice, police say. Sgt. Ron King was fired Friday following an internal investigation on the matter, Florida today reported.
King had been supervising the training session on April 4 at Port Canveral. "Whether his act was hatred or stupidity, none is tolerable," John Walsh, CEO of Port Canaveral, told WFTV.
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Trayvon's family is disturbed by the news. "Using a dead child's image as target practice is reprehensible," Benjamin Crump, an attorney representing Trayvon's parents, said in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel.
In a YouTube video posted late Saturday, Sgt. Ron King apologized–sort of. He said he did not intend for the Trayvon picture to be used for shooting, but instead to be used as a "learning tool." He added that the complaints against him were driven by a "political agenda."
Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., on the evening of Feb. 26 last year. Zimmerman claimed self-defense, but Martin was not armed. He was 17.
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