Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson are furious over the announcement today that all criminal charges would be dropped against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett after he was accused of filing false police reports stemming from an alleged hate crime.
“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 said today.
Emanuel went on to praise the work of the Chicago police: “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.
Superintendent 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.”
Johnson continued, “At the end of the day it was Smollett who committed this hoax.”
After the charges were dropped, Smollett thanked his fans in a statement outside of the courthouse, saying “I want to thank my family, my friends, the incredible people of Chicago and all over the country and world who have prayed for me, supported me and shown me love. No one will ever know how much that has meant to me. Not for a moment was it in vain.”
