"My thoughts and heartfelt prayers go out to the family and friends of Trayvon Martin during this extraordinarily painful time," said Congresswoman Corrine Brown.
Congresswoman Brown has called on the Department of Justice to become involved to provide a third party opinion in the investigation and evaluate civil rights violations (letter attached). The Congresswoman met today for four hours with Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr., and Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett, as well as City Manager, Norton N. Bonaparte, Jr., in an attempt to clarify the situation and encourage them to release the 9/11 tapes. She also met separately with District 2 Sanford City Commissioner, Velma H. Williams. The Congresswoman and the mayor have jointly requested an emergency meeting with the Department of Justice and she spoke directly to a high ranking Justice Department official today. This evening, she is scheduled to meet with members of the Martin family.
The Congresswoman continued, "given the history of racial tension in the Sanford community, and the obscure and somewhat contradictory facts that have surfaced thus far in this case, I believe the DOJ's involvement will give the community more confidence that justice will be served."