Smith, a former Cedarville University student and Washington Courthouse native, answered four questions this week about his work in Chicago as the freelance journalist that brought the video to light.
1. Why did you decide to sue Chicago over release of this video
“I knew there were a lot of statistics about police violence and they didn’t seem to be creating conversations where lots of media outlets got involved and were covering the story. There was some activism going on but it really didn’t have media coverage … The video kind of adds something to all of these really meaty substantial stories about police violence in Chicago.”
2. How does the video compare to what you expected?
“I thought the video would show how far the officers were away exactly when they shot Laquan. It doesn’t show that exactly, but you can kind of get an idea based on where the officer was before the car turned. And it’s kind of far away. It’s greater than a traffic lane, let’s just say that. And Laquan was walking away from these officers, definitely not lunging at them as was originally stated by the police department. The initial story which persisted for at least a few months was that Laquan was acting erratically and lunged at officers, and that’s just not true.”
3. What response do you expect from the community and from authorities to the video?
“In Chicago, to give a little background, between 2010 and 2014, police shot more than 300 people, and 70 of those people died. Something like two-thirds or more than two-thirds of those people who died are black, so the black community is really coming down hard on Rahm Emanuel, the mayor … And they’re coming down hard on Garry McCarthy who is the police superintendent here … (and county prosecutor Anita Alvarez) took 13 months to do it (file charges) when there’s a clear video of what happened, which doesn’t make much sense … And then of course she didn’t do it until I forced release of the video, my attorney and I who filed the FOIA request.”
4. Are you concerned protests could turn violent?
“A key thing to remember is there hasn’t been a violent protest or a riot in Chicago in 40 years, so not many people expect it to happen now, even though the video is kind of horrific.
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