Jussie Smollett Update: Video Shows Noose Around Actor's Neck After Alleged Attack
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Nearly 70 hours of video related to the Jussie Smollett hate crime investigation was released by the Chicago Police Department on Monday, including, for the first time, police body camera video that shows the noose around the actor's neck.
The video was captured as police entered Smollett's downtown apartment, and the actor is seen in a red and white sweater with the rope around his neck. He told investigators he kept the rope there to show them evidence of a racially motivated attack.
As the officers arrive, Smollett removes the rope and says, "There's bleach on me." A few seconds later he asks police to turn off the body cam.
CBS 2's Charlie DeMar, Megan Hickey and a team of producers are reviewing the files and are providing updates.
BODY CAM Video Of Smollett With Noose
The hundreds of video clips include images of Smollett wearing a rope around his neck and the movements of the actor and the two brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo, in the minutes before the allegedly staged attack. The alleged altercation was not captured on video, sources have said.
On January 29 Chicago police opened a hate crime investigation after Smollett said he was attacked near his Chicago apartment. According to police, Smollett said two men approached him around 2 a.m., shouted "racial and homophobic slurs," poured an "unknown chemical substance" on him and wrapped a noose around his neck.
Police later said that Smollett staged the attack and charged him with filing a false police report. Those charges were later dropped by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.
VIDEO OF OSUNDAIRO BROTHERS IN CAB
In the minutes before meeting Smollett on South Water Street before the the incident, the Osundairo brothers, wearing hoodies on one the the coldest nights of the year, took a cab near the location.
BROTHERS RUNNING FROM SCENE OF ATTACK
This short clip shows the Osundairo brothers running after allegedly staging the attack against Smollett on South Water Street.
BROTHERS ARRESTED AT O'HARE
Police video shows the Osundairo brothers being arrested and taken in for questioning after they returned from a trip to Nigeria.
On Feb. 16, they told detectives that Smollett paid them to participate in the attack and that the rope found around Smollett's neck was purchased at the Crafty Beaver hardware store.
Video of Abel Osundairo greeting by law enforcement as he gets off a plane at O'Hare.
— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) June 24, 2019
He is placed in handcuffs and then brought in for questioning.
The brothers would later tell police they were paid to go along with a staged attack on Jussie Smollett. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/p3xuZK6wlv
A raid of their home turned up ropes, masks and bleach.
Two calls to 911 reporting Jussie Smollett had been the victim of a racially motivated attack in January were released earlier this month. Thousands of pages of documents related to the case were made public in late May.