Jussie Smollett probe: More than 1,000 files released
It includes video footage that shows the actor with a white rope wrapped around his neck
Chicago police released more than 1,000 files from the investigation into Jussie Smollett’s claim he was attacked by two men, including video footage that for the first time shows the ‘Empire’ actor with a thin, white rope wrapped around his neck that he told detectives was a noose.
The footage from body cameras worn by police officers who responded on January 29 to what Smollett said was a racist and homophobic attack by two large men has Smollett’s face blurred out because, as police explained, he was considered a victim at that point.
In all, police released nearly 1,200 different individual files, including thousands of pages of documents, arrest reports and handwritten notes from police. Added up, there is more than 90 hours of video, much of it hour after hour of surveillance cameras high above city streets.
As the hunt for the two men Smollett said attacked him continued for weeks, some in the city started to wonder if the whole thing was a hoax. And those suspicions made it into the documents.
The footage itself illustrates the growing scepticism within the Chicago Police Department, starting with the fact that much of it was retrieved from surveillance cameras.
Fox Entertainment announced in April that Smollett would not appear in the sixth and final season of ‘Empire.’