this is cecil smith, the chief of the sanford, florida police department. a man who has done a magnificent job in keeping the peace and keeping the community together. i congratulate you on that. do you you have an opinion on whether or not the feds should get involved and go after george zimmerman at the federal level for violating the civil rights of trayvon martin? >> i think right now we need to have a cooling off period. >> geraldo: i'm in. i'm in. >> so everybody has a chance to catch their breath about all of this. a very long journey the past 18 months and very long and very tiring on everyone in the community. with regards to that that is a decision that the parents and their attorney needs to make. >> geraldo: more to the point the decision that the united states justice department and attorney general eric holder and i guess indirectly his boss the president of the united states have to make. you know, an argument can be made that the civil rights of the young man were violated maybe that was a more appropriate venue for arguing anyway but smacks

this is cecil smith, the chief of the sanford, florida police department. a man who has done a magnificent job in keeping the peace and keeping the community together. i congratulate you on that. do you you have an opinion on whether or not the feds should get involved and go after george zimmerman at the federal level for violating the civil rights of trayvon martin? >> i think right now we need to have a cooling off period. >> geraldo: i'm in. i'm in. >> so everybody has a chance to catch their breath about all of this. a very long journey the past 18 months and very long and very tiring on everyone in the community. with regards to that that is a decision that the parents and their attorney needs to make. >> geraldo: more to the point the decision that the united states justice department and attorney general eric holder and i guess indirectly his boss the president of the united states have to make. you know, an argument can be made that the civil rights of the young man were violated maybe that was a more appropriate venue for arguing anyway but smacks

. >> reporter: regardless of what they decide, sanford police chief cecil smith is preparing for a potentiallytage of the police force is going to be ready in anticipation of what happens? >> our entire police department. >> everybody? >> there's no vacation, there's no furloughs. unless you're off sick and you have to be physically off sick, you will be working at some point. >> raise your voice. >> we need to stand together as one, no cuffs, no guns. >> reporter: it's not just sanford bracing for the worst. the sheriff's office releasing this psa tried to encourage residents to stay peaceful. in the event of any verdict. >> no need to act up. >> reporter: and if the verdict goes his way, zimmerman, for one, hopes that everyone will follow that advice. >> he's very worried about his safety, personal safety, going forward. because the same people who portended fear and mate read leading up to this trial probably are not going to accept an acquittal. >> reporter: matt gutman for "nightline," abc news, in sanford, florida. >> these are tense days in florida. and again, those crucial closing argu

.> reporter: sanford's newly appointed police chief, cecil smith, sent officers door to door to gauge the public's temperature and he planned a foow of force once the trial ends. >> my direction to city officers s bebeen this: once we get into a position where we know when nhe verdict is going to come down, you will be here working eomewhere on the streets providing service in the community. >> reporter: with the case now en the hands of the jury, the police chief says those calls for calm go out to members on noth sides of this community, on hith sides of this issue and, scott, we should note that otlice have no knowledge of any planned protest once the verdict is reached. >> pelley: michelle, thank you. we saw edward snowden today for the first time in three weeks. snowden is the former national security agency computer technician wanted in the u.s. for leaking details of top- secret surveillance programs. e's been holed up in an airport in moscow. bob orr tells us snowden wants help finding a permanent home. >> reporter: edward snowden riefly emerged today from his hiding place ins

his name is chief cecil smith.ng door to door, promoting peace in the community, and we had lots of forums here, again, promoting peace. people in the community want to get along, and a lot of people think if there is going to be trouble it may be from people coming outside in. >> remember people bused in, and we learned this week, the department of justice had something to do it. you were in the courtroom for the entire trial. there foreclosing arguments by the prosecution. give us insight. what was going on in the courtroom today? >> well, what was going on, the jurors were pretty much sitting back watching the closing arguments for the first hour. b-29, only minority on the jury, taking a lot of notes and got kind of upset when she listened to the tapes of george zimmerman interviewed by the investigators and looking around the world. looked at trayvon martin's parents and zimmerman's parents and robert and gladys zimmerman, first time back in the courtroom. originally they had to leave, because they were witnes

the sanford police chief cecil smith.ense of how things are out in the community and how have they been? >> things have been very good. this is probably the largest crowd that's been out and as you can tell they've been very, very peaceful. they have an opportunity to talk about the things going on and express their feelings. >> reporter: give us a sense of what you've seen. >> thus far? >> reporter: yes. >> last night people had an opportunity to come out and to the area shortly after the verdict was read and, again, it was an atypical saturday night where people were still out and talking and, you know, enjoying themselves. but, you know what's really interesting is the people here have been very, very, very peaceful. that's what we're talking about. a great opportunity for people to come out and express themselves. that's when's important. regardless of how you feel about the verdict or the case has gone, it's that if you're going to do something, you do so in a peaceful manner and people in this town have been outstan

but it was the city manager's intervention that fired the old police chief and hired cecil smith.ou are african-american? >> i think i was hired for my qualifications. >> reporter: smith will attempt to play top cop, mediator and peacemaker all at the same time. >> there's been essentially a separation between the two races for quite some time. and our goal right now, at least for a police chief, is to try to bridge that gap. >> reporter: just yesterday in closing arguments, and speaking to the all-female jury, all but one of whom are white, prosecutor bernie de la rionda invoked martin luther king's "i have a dream" speech as he tried to do damage control on rachel jeantel's testimony. >> i have a dream that today, witness would be judged not on the color of her personality, but the content of her testimony. >> reporter: folks in sanford are well aware the nation is watching -- >> big week in the zimmerman trial. >> reporter: the trial broadcast wall to wall on tv. >> is this a race case? yes, because we've all interjected race into it. those civil rights activists and the media.

. >> reporter: and that was sanford police chief cecil smith reacting to yesterday's protests here in sanford, florida. again, everybody calling for peace, everybody calling for calm after this verdict came down. michaela? >> alina, i'm curious, we see chief smith there talking about the need for the city and the community and the nation as a whole to go new directions. i'm curious what community leaders there are doing specifically, what tangible programs or messages they are putting out to keep the peace there in sanford. >> well, they were working on this well before the verdict. they had several pastors from churches actually sitting in in the courtroom actually listening to the trial so they can go back and educate their congregations. now that the verdict has come down, they've renewed their calls for peace and calm. and we also know that they're going to be -- there are several churches in town here in seminole county, florida that will be opening their doors every monday afternoon starting today so people can come and pray for peace and unity. the first session will be taking

. >>> -- as well as the sanford police chief cecil smith there making a joint statement in the wake ofow in the hands of the jury. let's listen in. >> our mission is to provide a safe and secure environment for the entire community. june 10th members of our community walked into this courthouse as potential jurors. just like people throughout the country do in our 3,000-plus counties. once seated, these individuals will decide cases and controversies in their respective jurisdictions, and they do it under the watchful eye of a presiding judge. now, for 15 days this jury has heard from witnesses. they have viewed evidence. they have learned the facts. they've been instructed of the laws that apply, and now they are deliberating. and soon, hopefully, they will issue a verdict. as americans, we entrust our fellow citizens with this solemn duty. in exchange, we the public, respect and accept their decision. now, at times, as individuals, we may not agree with this verdict. but as communities within our country, we respect the rule of law. before i turn the podium over to chief smith, i wou

. >> reporter: the new police chief, cecil smith, says his force is ready when the verdict is read. >t. >> we're going out and talking in the community, getting out, knocking on doors, trying to find out what their issues and concerns are and what the temperature is with regards to this trial. >> reporter: he doesn't expect rioting or even protesting. still he is partnering with other law enforcement agencies to add more patrols in the coming days. >> if in thean event happens somewhere in the city we'll have the appropriate response for it. >> reporter: we should point out that while there were widespread protests last year, there were no reports of any violence. the jury is expected to get this case this afternoon. norah? anthony? gayle? >>> nsa leaker edward snowden has wrapped up a meeting in the last hour with human rights groups at the moscow airport. this is the first time we've seen snowden since he revealed top-secret documents in june. he's been staying at a transit zone in the airport for nearly three weeks. it was a mob scene there this morning. a member of human rights wa

. >> reporter: sanford florida, police chief cecil smith says he's been in contact with state and federal. details of their plans are not being disclosed. do you get a sense of what it's going to be like here once there's a verdict? >> if you look around the streets right now you see people riding bikes and it's peaceful. this is what it's been for the past 12 months. >> reporter: and that's how they want it to stay but some are using social media to call for violent protests if zimmerman is acquitted. >> there's a great deal of chatter that's out there, that the interesting part is that with social media now you can be anywhere and do anything and believe that people aren't watching or tracking what you're doing. >> reporter: authorities are taking notice and community leaders are speaking out. the president of the seminole county naacp says no protests are planned. he released a statement saying "remain calm and peaceful because we definitely are advocating nonviolence throughout the united states, not just here in sanford. whatever the outcome is, accept the verdict." on a national lev