Florida Police Chief Overseeing Trayvon Martin Case Is Terminated

Today, the Florida police chief in charge of overseeing the controversial and publicized Trayvon Martin fatal shooting case was fired.

Details of former Police Chief Bill Lee's removal emerged Wednesday (June 20) afternoon.

Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, who drew criticism for his department's actions in the Trayvon Martin case, was fired Wednesday, his spokeswoman said. Spokeswoman Sara Brady said Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte made the decision. (Q13 Fox)

Over the past few months, Lee had reportedly tried resigning from his position.

In April, Lee submitted his resignation letter stating the he was stepping down from his position to help the city heal over divisions created in the wake of the Martin shooting and subsequent investigation. His resignation was rejected by city commissioners. George Zimmerman shot Martin on Feb. 26 in the gated community where he served as a volunteer neighborhood watchman. Zimmerman claims the 17-year-old punched him in the face and was bashing his head against the pavement when he fired his registered handgun in self-defense, striking Martin in the chest. The incident sparked a national debate as to whether the shooting was an act of racial profiling by Zimmerman. (My Fox Orlando)

The now-former police chief caught heat after not taking swift action on Martin's killer, George Zimmerman following the fatal February shooting.

Lee had said Zimmerman was not charged in the shooting because there were no grounds to disprove his account of the events -- that Martin had attacked him. Since then, Zimmerman has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The incident sparked a national debate as to whether the shooting was an act of racial profiling by Zimmerman and about the state's "stand-your-ground" law. (10 News)

Earlier this week, jail calls between Zimmerman and his wife were released.

In a half dozen phone calls between a locked-up George Zimmerman and his wife, the couple talk about their love for each other, buying bulletproof vests and how to move a flood of donations into their personal accounts, recordings released Monday reveal. Prosecutors allege the six phone calls prove that Shellie Zimmerman lied when she told a judge that the couple was broke before her husband was granted bail in April. (Orlando Sentinel)