Sanford city manager on commission’s rejection of police chief resignation; meeting was ‘cold’

Norton Bonaparte, Sanford city manager, joins Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien to discuss the City Commission’s decision to reject the resignation of the Police Chief Bill Lee.

Bonaparte says, “[The City Commission wants] to have more information. In particular, they want to have the results of an independent investigation that will determine what actually took place that night and how the Sanford Police Department acted. Did they do things that they shouldn’t have done or did they not do things that they should have done.”

When O’Brien asked if he and Chief Lee worked out a resignation deal before they brought it to the City Commission, Bonaparte answers, “Yes, Chief Lee and I had had several conversations and determined that with a vote of no confidence it would be very challenging for him to continue as the police chief for the city of Sanford. So, we worked out a severance agreement, we took it to the City Commission, discussed it with them and last night they decided that they would not accept it.”

In response to a question about how the meeting went, the feeling inside the room and in the city, Bonaparte says, “Well, it’s a little cold today. It’s unusual for Florida. In terms of the City Commission meeting, it was also cold. You had a lot of people at the meeting. You had a lot of police supporters and you have those who say that chief lee should not come back. That’s why tensions got pretty hot last night.”

Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9am ET on CNN.