SANFORD, Fla. — A memorial for Trayvon Martin has been moved by the city of Sanford.
City leaders said they had permission from his parents, but Tuesday, Martin's family said that's not true.
The residents who have been maintaining the memorial met with the city manager to find out why it was moved.
Now, after a group of citizens got involved, the city is considering putting the memorial back where it was.
City officials said the items were brought to Sanford's city museum.
Martin was killed inside the Retreat at Twin Lakes, a gated Sanford community, about five months ago.
Since his shooting death, strangers have built a small memorial outside the community to make sure the teenager isn't forgotten.
But city officials moved the crosses, flowers, flags and even the pictures of Martin.
Norton Bonaparte, Sanford's city manager, said it was done to "preserve and protect" the items and only after talking to attorneys for the Martin family.
"They said that they never agreed to have the memorial removed," WFTV's Daralene Jones told Bonaparte.
"Those are the things that we're still looking into. I spoke with Ms. Jackson and Mr. Crump, and there seems there have been some miscommunications between city staff and family," said Bonaparte.
Bonaparte said homeowners who live in the neighborhood where Martin was killed also complained that the memorial impeded traffic, and in the long run, could impact property values.
But the residents who have maintained the memorial want the items returned and made that clear when they met with the city manager.
"There are numerous memorials that are still up that have been for years that no one has removed," said Sanford resident Vera June.
And some said five months is too soon to remove the memorial.
Some said they are still trying to heal from a death that brought racial tension to a head in Sanford.
City officials wouldn't commit to moving the memorial back right away, but they didn't rule it out, either.
"Is that a possibility?" Jones asked Bonaparte.
"That was certainly expressed. There are some other considerations in terms of the residents of the area and we'll be looking at all of," said Bonaparte.
Officials at Leland management, the management company for the Retreat at Twin Lakes, wouldn't comment on whether they asked the city to have the memorial removed.
WFTV
