How does Chief Bill Lee’s firing tie in with Detective Chris Serino’s removal, and Matt Gutman’s admissions? Some of this is a combination of factual evidence and blended with a reasonable hypothesis from three months of investigating the players.
It really is not that complex to identify the motives and consequences of the latest developments in the Trayvon Martin Shooting against the backdrop of evidence discovery and known personalities.
First, Lead Detective Chris Serino – From the outset Detective Serino has held somewhat of a valid chip on his shoulder toward George Zimmerman. Somewhat valid. Did he cross the line? Yes. Was it out of some grand design to see George Zimmerman incarcerated for Second Degree murder? No, not likely.
Serino was non sympathetic toward Zimmerman’s position for a variety of reasons. Zimmerman had thrown his department and some of his pals under the bus regarding the Sherman Ware case against Justin Collison. Maybe he even thought of Zimmerman as a rogue do-gooder blended with somewhat of a grandiose vigilante complex.
So from the start he just didn’t care for him. Besides, from his perspective, if Zimmerman had just sat his butt in his car and waited for the police to arrive none of this would have happened. Especially not all the grief brought upon his department once again by the same loud mouth that created the prior problems with the former Police Chief. So Zimmerman, from Serino’s perspective was getting a dose of Karma.
But Serino knew, from a purely legal perspective, there was nothing in violation of the law that Zimmerman had done. Nothing during the investigation led anyone to any other conclusion other than he was lawfully within his rights to defend himself against Trayvon Martin. Even though, once again, if he had sat in the car and waited, the entire fiasco would not have happened.
So while Serino held the professional opinion that Zimmerman was not guilty of a criminal act per se’, he was not going to defend this guy from the guilt of being a first-rate idiot.
One of the easiest examples of this sentiment to point out, as Froggielegs and Jay noted, is Detective Serino knowing on February 29th that Zimmerman said “Fucking punks” as he questioned him during the interrogation about what he said on the 911 call.
INTERVIEW @7:15 Serino is playing the 911 tape to George and asks George what it is he was whispering on the 911 tape. He plays the portion of the 911 again and says “F*cking what”? George replies “Punks”. Serino then says “He wasn’t a F*cking Punk”
So when all of the racist accusations were being bantered around, and all the media people were speculating wildly about the recording, Chris Serino could have put it to rest. He certainly could have put a stop to it during the March 16th interview with Chief Lee and the Orlando Sentinel. He didn’t.
He didn’t for the same reason that Ryan Julison didn’t, it made Zimmerman appear worse and brought a measure of public moral outrage upon him. Serino felt such outrage was deserved, and while not guilty of a crime, perhaps such public admonishment would be punishment for being a first class jackass.
It was that same motivation that led to Chris Serino leaking to the media many details surrounding the case including the infamous Zimmerman video arriving at the police station, and other leaked information about witness testimony.
However, the public admonishment exploded into full-blown outrage; putting his department and his fellow officers and staff under extreme duress. That part, he did not intend. Actually it pissed him off. Here he is helping the anti-Zimmerman crowd and simultaneously they are slamming him for a botched investigation. It backfired.
So he also leaked the bloody headshot taken at the scene, and some other pro-Zimmerman evidence just trying to tamp down the inferno created by the media firestorm. Too late.
He then had to face the lions and tell them what he knew early on, there just wasn’t any factual evidence to warrant an arrest of Zimmerman; and unfortunately quite the opposite all the evidence was supporting his repeated statements to him and other investigators, including the witness testimony. So Detective Chris Serino got Crumped anyway.
Matt Gutman – Matt’s role was easy. All he had to do was accept the leaked information, package it to fit the tasty “exclusive” narrative, and sell it to ABC producers and executives who heralded the brilliance of his investigative reporting. Lights, Camera, Action lots of face time on TV stations around the nation explaining the story. The Crumped up story.
Gutman’s relationship with Media Consultant Ryan Julison endeared him to the Scheme Team. He was given even more exclusives when Benjamin Crump introduced the heavily made up “DeeDee” factor. I mean, c’mon. What valid reporter would accept an interview opportunity where they were not allowed to ask questions and then sell it as journalism? Matt Gutman would, and did.
Oh how delicious and tantalizing those days of lead headlines were. The spotlight was intoxicating, and the nation was filled with high praise for his advocacy. The race baiters loved him, the wool-eyed kool-aid drinking sheeples loved him, life was grand. It was easy to. Unfortunately, too easy; and incredulously too obvious for an objective viewer.
Chief Lee – This poor guy was stuck between a rock and a million hoodie wearing hard places. His department was under attack from every angle, including from within. His bosses and the bosses bosses were out for blood, and the streets were filled with skittle clad trademarked T-Shirts. Chief Lee was carrying a lit powder keg, looking for a safe way to defuse it while at any given moment it could blow up in his face.
City Manager Norton Bonaparte on Lee’s proverbial ass 24/7, and the city commission pinned against the walls by the NAACP, Black Panthers, Al Sharpton, Ben Jealous, Jesse Jackson, Corrine Brown and Frederica Wilson; while Daryl Parks, Benjamin Crump, Natalie Jackson and Ryan Julison are throwing grenades daily, and no help from the State or Federal officials in sight. Yikes.
So Chief Lee finds out that Detective Serino was the leak source against his own department. Oh brother, just what was needed. What is a righteous man to do? Why go to his boss the City Manager of course; and hard as it might be, tell the truth about what you know.
Chief Lee by now has been replaced, albeit under the auspices of temporary stepping down from the case and his position, but no-one wants to deal with this one. I mean the department is being specifically accused by Scheme Team Narrator Benjamin Crump of being corrupt, and in this specific example, he’s right. So what would that conversation between Chief Lee, Norton Bonaparte and Mayor Triplett be like?
Lee seems like a straight arrow kinda police chief. Probably aimed the discipline right where it was deserved, Chris Serino. But dammit man, how would that look to Bonaparte and Triplett, from their perspectives considering the city and pressure? Lose/Lose.
Perhaps the politico’s just wanted to wait a spell and see what comes? To which Lee would reasonably protest the risk of cover-up would be far worse if discovered. It would, no matter the best of intentions, look like they were guilty of the very thing the Scheme Team was accusing them off. Lose/Lose.
So the best decision is Chief Lee is fired, falls on sword. Serino is demoted/moved under the auspices of stress, needing a break, or (___insert fibber statement here___), while providing an opportunity to appear disciplined, if needed later on.
Yeah, that’s the ticket from Detective to Night Patrol, midnight shift. The Thin Blue Line of internal politics, “plausible deniability”, meets considerations of best case scenario.
Matt Gutman knowing the internal leak investigation was headed his way because he was 1) given a heads up by Serino, and 2) expecting Serino to be fired, heads for the high ground to wait out the outcome. Gutman fully expected Serino’s head to roll, as would have been the preference for Bill Lee, and expected as such.
So when questioned about Serino being the leaker, yep, might as well admit now, it’s all “out there” anyway, and Serino is gone…. but, what?… no,… wait, huh, what?
