After charges were dropped against "Empire"
star Jussie Smollett for allegedly staging his own hate
crime, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Chicago Mayor
Rahm Emanuel are furious with the outcome, calling it a "whitewash of
justice" that cost the city more than $10,000.
"Where is the accountability in the system? You
cannot have because of a person's position one set of rules applies to them and
another set of rules apply to everyone else," Emanuel fumed, relating the
ruling to the nationwide college admissions cheating scandal that broke earlier
this month.
"Our officers did hard work day in and day out,
countless hours working to unwind what actually happened that night. The
city saw its reputation dragged through the mud ... It's not just the officers'
work, but the work of the grand jury that made a decision based on only a
sliver of the evidence [presented]," he continued. "Because of the
judge's decision, none of that evidence will ever be made public."
"[This case] sends a clear message that if you're in
a position of influence and power you'll be treated one way and if you're not
you'll be treated another way," he said.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said, "Our job as police officers is to
present them with the evidence ... If someone ever falsely accused me [of a
crime], I would never hide behind a brokered deal and secrecy."
"I don't know what's unusual for the state's
attorney but we found out about when you all did," he added.
"Prosecutors have their discretion of course, we still have to work with the state's attorneys office, we'll have conversations after this," he said. "At the end of the day it was Smollett who committed this hoax."
"Prosecutors have their discretion of course, we still have to work with the state's attorneys office, we'll have conversations after this," he said. "At the end of the day it was Smollett who committed this hoax."
Earlier Tuesday, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s
office announced that all 16 felony counts against Smollett, 36, were dropped
in a nolle pros and the record in the case was sealed. Smollett voluntarily
forfeited his bond money and Smollett's attorney, Patricia Brown-Holmes,
said the funds would likely go to the city of Chicago.
Brown-Holmes also admonished the Chicago P.D., saying
they needed to "investigate claims" before presuming suspects' guilt
and trying them in the press.
Johnson told press in February of the case: "I'm left
hanging my head and asking why: Why would anyone, especially an
African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations?
How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol...how
can an individual who has been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and
slap everyone in this city by making this false claim? Bogus police reports
cause real harm."
Smollett has maintained his innocence and
previously pleaded not guilty to all 16 counts against him.
Smollett told police he was attacked by two masked men as he was walking home from
a Chicago Subway sandwich shop at around 2 a.m on Jan. 29. The actor, who is
black and openly gay, said the masked men beat him, made derogatory comments and
yelled "This is MAGA country" — an apparent reference to President Donald
Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again" — before
fleeing.
However, the masked men were brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo. The brothers
were reportedly observed on surveillance cameras buying the
rope that was around Smollett's neck after the attack. Johnson told press
that the police pivoted their investigation away from a hate crime and to
an allegedly false police report after the Osundairo brotherscooperated with authorities.
He later claimed on "Good Morning America" to
have more evidence that hadn't yet been made public that Smollett staged the
attack. Johnson told anchor Robin Roberts that he worked with "very
closely" with the Osundairos' attorney to investigate the matter and that
Smollett was initially treated as a victim, not a suspect, in the case.
"It's not the Chicago police saying [the attack was
staged]," Johnson said at the time. "It's the evidence, the facts and
the witnesses that are saying it."
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, who recused herself from Smollett's case, previously asked
Johnson to let the FBI investigate Smollett's alleged attack after the former
chief of staff to former first lady Michelle Obama allegedly informed Foxx
that Smollett's family had concerns about the probe.
The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin
Graham then alleged that Foxx had illegally interfered with their
investigation into Smollett's alleged crime. Graham reportedly wrote to the
Justice Department to investigate whether Foxx herself broke any laws related
to the probe.
It was Foxx's office that charged Smollett with lying to
police.
Smollett's attorneys previously blasted the Chicago P.D.'s conduct,
telling Fox News they've "witnessed an organized law enforcement
spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption
of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the
expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election. Mr. Smollett
is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly
maintains his innocence betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due
process and proceed directly to sentencing.”
Fox News' Tyler McCarthy and Sasha Savitsky
contributed to this report.
