Sanford Police Chief Was Dean at College That Expelled George Zimmerman

The past 24 hours have seen plenty of memorable headlines in the Trayvon Martin story.

Last night, Robert Zimmerman Jr., the brother of George Zimmerman, defended his sibling to Piers Morgan. Morgan has been criticized for not challenging Zimmerman’s statements, but just as the public was attempting to digest that, another witness spoke to Anderson Cooperabout the events of Feb. 26. Now, a coincidence has been revealed—former Sanford police chief Bill Lee, Jr. was the dean at the college that expelled Zimmerman.

Prior becoming the Sanford police chief, Lee was associate dean of the School of Public Safety at Seminole State College. Ironically, this is the same school that recently expelled George Zimmerman.

According to Lee’s 2011 application for police chief, he held the academic position until he accepted the job with the Sanford PD. Zimmerman attended Seminole State off and on, starting in 2003. The Orlando Sentinel claims he enrolled in a "general studies" program in 2009, but previous reports stated he was studying criminal justice.

Jay Davis, communications director for Seminole State, issued this statement regarding Lee’s tenure:

There is no evidence at the time to suggest that Lee and Zimmerman ever met, but it's a strange connection. Furthermore, is this any less relevant than fishing for “incriminating” information on Trayvon Martin?

[via The Grio and CNN]

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