By Police1 Staff
CHICAGO — Chicago police released nearly 70 hours’ worth of video Monday of the alleged staged attack on “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.
Video shows an officer responding to a 911 call at Smollett’s apartment, ABC 7 Chicago reports. Smollett is seen in the video with a rope loosely strung around his neck, which he claims was put there by his attackers. Smollett’s manager, who made the call, told police that he had been a victim of a racial and homophobic attack.
Officers ask Smollett if he wants to remove the noose, which he does, and then inform him that their body cameras are recording the call. The actor and his manager ask that the cameras be turned off.
The hours of footage released include surveillance camera recordings of the area where Smollett claims he was attacked by two men wearing “Make America Great Again” hats on January 29.
After investigating, Chicago police said that Smollett staged the attack at a corner where he believed surveillance cameras would be with the help of the Osundairo brothers, who he knew from “Empire.”
Smollett was initially charged with a count of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, but a grand jury returned an indictment for 16 counts of disorderly conduct for filing a false report.
All charges against the actor were dropped in February, leading to a separate investigation by the county’s inspector general.