The city of Chicago will ask Jussie Smollett to foot the bill for the costs of the police investigation into his alleged hate crime attack.
Chicago police spokesman Angthony Gugliemi said, “The City of Chicago will be sending Mr. Smollett a bill…From a 30,000-foot view, the bill will include the hours, the overtime, the financial costs and the resources that were used” in the probe.
“It was an extensive investigation that required a lot of review of cameras,” Gugliemi continued. “There was technical assistance provided by external agencies, but it’ll likely only include Chicago expenses and not expenses incurred by the FBI and other technical experts we brought in for analysis,” he continued.
Earlier today, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel suggested Smollett write “I’m accountable for the hoax” in the memo on the check to the city.
“Given that he doesn’t feel any sense of contrition and remorse, my recommendation is when he writes the check, in the memo section, he can put the word ‘I’m accountable for the hoax,” said the mayor.
Emanuel said Chicago police are still calculating the costs of the investigation and when it’s complete, he will have the city’s Corporation Counsel bill Smollett and his lawyers.
According to NBC News, Smollett’s attorneys responded in a statement today saying that the Mayor and police owe the actor an apology “for dragging an innocent man’s character through the mud.”
“Jussie has paid enough,” his attorneys said.
