Ill. cop named chief in city where Fla. teen slain

ELGIN, Ill. (AP) — A 25-year veteran of a suburban Chicago police department has been named chief of police in the Florida city where unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin was killed.

Cecil Smith is a deputy chief of the Elgin Police Department.

He tells WBBM television (http://cbsloc.al/XRBwEx ) he'll be in Sanford, Fla., next week, which will mark the one-year anniversary of Martin's death.

The 17-year-old black teenager was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch coordinator who said he was acting in self-defense. The death sparked a national outcry and led to the ouster of Sanford's police chief.

Smith says there has been a great deal of racial distrust in the Sanford community. He says "because it happened, now we have to make sure it never happens again."

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Information from: WBBM-TV, http://www.cbs2chicago.com