Police chief steps down as protests at shooting of Florida teen grow

Demonstrators in New York protest about shot teenager Trayvon Martin, who was killed by a neighbourhood watch captain (AP)

The Florida police chief who has faced widespread criticism for the failure to arrest a neighbourhood watch volunteer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager has stepped down temporarily.

Bill Lee, Chief of Police in Sanford, said he was stepping down because he had become a distraction to the investigation into why George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin, 17, in a gated community.

"My son did not deserve to die," Tracy Martin, pictured right, said on Wednesday evening after thanking hundreds of people who took part in a protest march in Manhattan. Racial tensions rose in the wake of the shooting.