Details in Jussie Smollett’s alleged falsification of a police report, among other things have baffled the public over the last month. However, some still feel Smollett may not be getting the fairest treatment from the Chicago Police Department, especially as contradictory details seem to come out daily.
Chigaco Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson took to ‘Good Morning America’ on Monday to share some insight into the case. “There’s a lot more evidence that hasn’t been presented yet, and does not support the version he gave,” Johnson said. “There’s still a lot of physical evidence, video evidence, and testimony that just simply does not support his version of what happened.”
What happened allegedly occurred back in January when Smollett filed a police report claiming he was the victim of a hate crime. Since then details have emerged that caused investigators to question Smollett’s version of the incident. That all came to a head last week as Smollett was formally charged with knowingly filing a false police report. Smollett turned himself in to police last Thursday.
Johnson did take time to specify that Smollett obviously has the assumption of innocence until proven otherwise. Since the beginning, Smollett has maintained he had no role in the attack but Johson also mentions red flags that came up during the investigation. He also specifically says that the Chicago Police Department “has to maintain the integrity of the investigation.” He then goes on to discuss the race relations in the city and police department.
“The city of Chicago and the Chicago police department has its issues with racism and excessive force and all of that, and I’m acutely aware of that,” Johnson said. “But we didn’t earn this particular incident and I just refuse to let us have to take that shot if I have evidence to the contrary. I just want people to understand that’s a damaging thing to do to a city and to a police department. It’s my responsibility to ensure the record gets set straight.”
