Trayvon’s Legacy: No Guns For Sanford Neighborhood Watch Volunteers

Orlando, Florida – The city where unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman has decided to ban guns for civilian patrols in an effort to reduce the likelihood of such a tragedy ever happening again.

The new rules, which will be released during a Sanford community meeting on November 5, will unambiguously outlaw neighborhood watch members from carrying a gun and from pursuing someone they find suspicious, reports Reuters.

“Neighborhood watch was always intended to be a program where you observe what is going on and report it to police. In light of everything that has gone on, that’s what we’re really going to go back and push. That’s what this program is and that’s all it is,” said Sanford Police Department spokeswoman Shannon Cordingly.

The new policy was requested by police Chief Cecil Smith in order to help regulate neighborhood watch volunteers and to promote safety, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Additionally, the neighborhood watch group has suffered from reputation damage after Zimmerman’s shooting of Martin, and there has been enormous public pressure to revisit the rights and responsibilities of such volunteers. On that note, the Sanford Police Department was similarly unambiguous.

“We never encouraged people to carry guns,” Cordingly said.

Though Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch coordinator who ran meetings out of his home, officials for the group have condemned his actions the night of Feb. 26, 2012 when he killed the unarmed Martin. Chris Tutko, director of Neighborhood Watch for the National Sheriffs’ Association, previously said that Zimmerman broke some of the group’s most cardinal rules.

First, the pursuit of a suspect.

“If you see something suspicious, you report it, you step aside and you let law enforcement do their job,” Tutko said. “This guy went way beyond the call of duty. At the least, he’s overzealous.”

Second, the carrying of a handgun. Though legal with a concealed weapons permit, it’s not something that is advisable or even common. Still,Tutko believes that the Neighborhood Watch groups are important.

“The police can’t do it all,” he said. “They need the people to be involved. As tragic as this situation is, I still think Neighborhood Watch is the best way for citizens to get involved in their communities.”

The Zimmerman case led to widespread confusion about the group’s responsibilities, which is something these new rules are meant to address.

“People in the community are nervous to join a group (neighborhood watch) that was tarnished in the media and got a bad image with everything that happened. We really want to put those fears to rest and get the community going on the program,” Cordingly said.

Neighborhood watch volunteers who violate the new rules will face expulsion from the program, but will not be charged with a crime.

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