The killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin has turned the spotlight on Sanford, Florida’s law enforcement. While attention is and should be focused on George Zimmerman, the man who gunned down Trayvon, the inept conduct of police following Martin’s death is appalling. While seedy details pertaining to Martin’s murder and murderer continue to be pieced together, the reputation of Sanford’s law enforcement is clearly tarnished.

On Feb. 26 Trayvon was walking to his father’s fiancé’s house, carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. Zimmerman, 28, a self-appointed neighborhood watchman, noticed Martin, particularly his hoodie and his skin tone. Zimmerman then called 911 to report suspicious activity. “These ***holes, they always get away,” Zimmerman told the police dispatcher. “Are you following him?” the dispatcher asked. “Okay, we don’t need you to do that.” Zimmerman followed him anyway.

At the same time, Martin’s girlfriend was reportedly on the phone with him. According to ABC News, “[She] asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast.” She also claims that she heard Martin ask Zimmerman why he was following him.

What happened next is troubling. A witness called 911 and reported a skirmish outside her home. Cries for help can be heard on the recording with proceeding gunshots. The Martin family identifies the screams as Trayvon’s.

Zimmerman was the only one armed and was 100 pounds heavier than Trayvon.

When officials got there they did not give a drug or alcohol test to Zimmerman, but they didn’t hesitate to perform those tests on the deceased Martin. Martin was clean. In fact, Zimmerman was allowed to leave the scene in the same clothes he wore when he shot Martin, potential evidence lost.

Why would officials be so lax with Zimmerman? After all, Zimmerman has a history of paranoia pertaining to black men. (He called the police 46 times about “suspicious” people.) Zimmerman also has a record of his own for police battery and alleged domestic violence. He also disobeyed orders not to follow Martin. Not to mention the fact that he was never elected or made an official neighborhood watchman. Zimmerman was a rogue vigilante.

The simple fact that this story is still being raked says more about parental resourcefulness than Sanford’s law enforcement. According to William Finnegan of The New Yorker, “Trayvon’s father found him only after checking the local hospitals and reporting him missing.”

DeWayne Wickham of USA Today wrote, “Martin’s body wasn’t identified until the next day when police, responding to his father’s missing person report, showed him a picture of the young man’s body. Despite this, the corpse remained in the morgue three days, classified only as ‘John Doe.'”

The police didn’t even check Martin’s phone records. His father did.

As of now Police Chief Bill Lee has resigned temporarily, after a 3-2 city commission vote of no confidence. Zimmerman is still a free man.

While the “Stand Your Ground Law” in Florida should be analyzed, this tragedy clearly shows one thing: justice must be demanded.