Officer Fired for Using Trayvon Martin Target at Gun Range
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A Florida police officer accused of using a Trayvon Martin target at a gun range has been fired according to USA Today.
The Port Canaveral Police Department in Florida fired Police Sgt. Ron King on Friday after an investigation to the incident that occurred on April 4. Police officials said King was leading target practice with two other officers and a civilian and then pulled out a target with an image of Trayvon Martin on it. King then asked the group if they wished to use the target for practice to which they all replied no.
Trayvon Martin was shot to death near his Florida home in Feb. 2012. (Creative Commons)
King, in a YouTube video, claimed the target was a “no-shooting training aid” to show officers incidents where they should not fire their guns.
ALSO SEE: New Evidence Released in the Trayvon Martin Murder Case
According to the Daily Beast, attorney for Martin’s parents said:
“It is absolutely reprehensible that a high-ranking member of the Port Canaveral Police, sworn to protect and serve Floridians, would use the image of a dead child as target practice.”
ALSO SEE: George Zimmerman Trial Date
17-year-old Martin was killed last year by a neighborhood watchman in the city of Sanford, about 50 miles from Port Canaveral. George Zimmerman, who has been accused of the murder, is scheduled to stand trial on June 10.
Last year the website GunBroker.com briefly sold targets of a hooded boy holding a can in the likeness of Trayvon Martin before he was shot to death. It is still unknown if this was the target King was carrying.
