Sanford’s new Police Chief, Cecil E. Smith will be sworn in by Mayor Jeff Triplett on Monday, April 1st.
The swearing-in ceremony will take place at Sanford City Commission Chambers, 300 N. Park Avenue, at 10:00 a.m.
Smith, who was the Deputy Chief of the Elgin, Illinois Police Department, was recently selected from a field of three top contenders to run the troubled department.
Upon accepting the position, Smith said recently he is looking “to move forward from the past and creating a partnership with the community.”
A little over one year ago, Sanford began a hotbed for marches and protests which spread nationwide, when an unarmed black teen, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, who wasn’t immediately arrested by police. Zimmerman, who said he shot Martin in self-defense, was subsequently arrested and is awaiting trial.
