Trayvon Martin's mother opposes 'defund' police effort, running for Florida commissioner seat

The mother of Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton, is running for a commissioner’s post in Miami Dade County and disagrees with recent calls to defund police departments across the country. 

“I don’t agree with that,” Fulton recently told The Guardian. “I think we need more police. We need police with better standards, and police with better ethics and better work habits.” 

Fulton spoke amid demonstrators’ calls to “Defund the Police,” following the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died after being arrested by Minneapolis police, including an officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck. His death sparked nationwide protests over police brutality toward African-Americans. 

Martin, an African-American, was fatally shot in 2012 in central Florida, when he was 17, by a neighborhood watch coordinator, George Zimmerman, during a physical altercation. Martin was unarmed. Zimmerman, who was injured during the encounter, claimed self-defense and was found not guilty. The incident and trial garnered nationwide interest and raised such issues as race and laws on concealed weapon permits.