Former Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee turns up in another case of a unarmed black person being shot

An unarmed man who was allegedly riding in a car reported stolen with another unarmed man, was shot this week by a Orange County, Fla. sheriff’s deputy.

A witness questioned why shots had to be fired in the first place stating that both the men had been complying with the commands of officers and giving the universal sign of surrender.

“You could see right in the car. Both of them had their hands up and they still shot at the car,” Ernest Miles Jr., told Florida news station WKMG He added that he dove to the floor once shots started ringing out as the police fired at the two unarmed men.

Cedric Bartee was shot by Sgt. Robert McCarthy and reportedly in stable but critical condition after undergoing surgery for his wound.

WKMG is also reporting that the lead investigator is none other than former Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee. Lee was fired from that job after the investigation into Trayvon Martin’s death. Lee along with Florida State prosecutor Norm Wolfinger allegedly conspired in going against the responding Sanford police investigators recommendation that George Zimmerman be charged in Martin’s killing.

The revelation that former Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee is involved as an investigator for the Orange County, Fla. sheriff’s department in this case further highlights how the system insures that “bad cops” remain on the job by allowing them to move to another town or city and be hired by yet another police department. This is true with Darren Wilson who was fired along with the entire police department of Jennings, Missouri only to resurface later as a Ferguson cop and going on to gun down Michael Brown. Cleveland Police Officer Timothy Loehmann resigned from another police job before coming to Cleveland where he jumped from a moving vehicle to shoot down 12 yr-old Tamir Rice.