Chicago will sue actor Jussie Smollett after he refuses to pay for police overtime

Rosanne just sent a tweet and got fired what this guy did is worse

@TigersTokyoDome,

"why not just drop it" ??

because Juisy Smollett was quite happy to create another nightmare of civil unrest and danger to police and public like Ferguson with his hoax hate crime.

I hope they sue him for everything hes got.

Even Hollywood is rejecting him. When you have Chris Rock and even the extremely partisan SNL ridiculing him he must know its all over.

if he hasn't been charged why on Earth would he need to pay the police for overtime investigation?

Because civil and criminal liability are two different things. The standard of proof is very different. OJ Simpson is probably the best example of this. He was acquitted criminally but found civilly liable.

The NAACP gave Juisy Smollett some kind of award, and told Chris Rock not to make any jokes about him. Someone in high places is trying to cover for Smollet. But Chris Rock wrecked that plan.

Hope everyone boycotts this guys show. Absolute scum. Chicago is already a tense city and this entitled guy just thought because he wasn’t happy with his $125K salary per episode that he would make himself somehow a victim and gain notoriety and reap the benefits? The guy is mental and needs to be sitting in a jail and not be on TV laughing at the rest of the country.

Here is the link to what Extanker is referring to. It is believed that when Michelle Obama's former Chief of Staff Tina Tchen got involved then Kim Foxx to recused herself from the case.

https://nypost.com/2019/03/14/former-michelle-obama-aide-tried-to-intervene-in-jussie-smollett-probe/

Heck, even the prosecutor that dropped the case does not think Smollett is innocent!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/prosecutor-says-he-doesnt-believe-jussie-smollett-is-innocent-1197362

If this were any one of us posting on this board we would have our free "3-hots and a cot" (behind bars). This stinks to high heaven. I am fairly liberal and I think someone who is truly a liberal should be completely and utterly disgusted by Smollett's actions.

The NAACP gave Juisy Smollett some kind of award, and told Chris Rock not to make any jokes about him. Someone in high places is trying to cover for Smollet. But Chris Rock wrecked that plan.

What friends in high places does he have? If there is a case, why has the case been dropped? And why are the police suing him for a case that they have dropped? Do they often do this? None of this makes sense.

It's common knowledge here that he is good friends with the Obamas. Michelle Obama's former chief of staff called the prosecutor and the Chicago PD to try to convince them to hand the case over to the FBI, so they could "handle" it. After they refused, the case was dismissed with the records sealed. That is far from normal and everyone involved in the case is extremely angry because the evidence is clear that he faked it.

His own attorney was on TV trying to convince people that it was still the Nigerian brothers who carried out the attack, even though Smollett said he clearly saw white skin under the masks. She had the nerve to suggest that maybe the Nigerians had put on 'white-face' makeup, the proof of this being that one of them made a YouTube video dressed as The Joker from Batman, wearing white makeup. Does that make any sense to anyone? Why would two black Nigerians, who were friends of Smollett, carry out a real hate crime, on their friend, disguised as white Trump supporters? Needless to say, the Nigerians are also planning to sue Smollett.

Let's not forget the letter he sent to himself at the studio with white powder in it. The guy is an idiot and should be in prison. We have enough problems with race without someone like him trying to add to it for his own personal gain. Fortunately, it is doubtful he will be finding work any time soon.

Regardless of whether he actually committed this as a hoax or not, if he hasn't been charged why on Earth would he need to pay the police for overtime investigation? If the police and prosecutors are in agreement that it was a hoax, then why not charge him?

The worst thing about this phony hate crime is that the Chicago police had to do the extra work and this distracts them (and future victims) from pursuing justice for real hate crimes. And this isn't entirely a 'race' issue either. The Chicago PD head is black and the last thing he needs is a fake case like this one. Smollett made him and other blacks working for justice look bad.

Either way, race/color or not, gay or no gay - Smollett crapped his pants in public because of his selfish greed and now probably nobody will want to hire him. His Hollywood career is a jet crash now, nose down.

In the US, if you need emergency services through a hoax, yes, you are expected to pay.

In fact, the only time that the Coast Guard gets money back for rescues is when they are the victim of a hoax — like in the uniquely bizarre case of a middle schooler radioing in an emergency from the back seat of a school bus.

Mountaineers who need helicopter rescue aren't surprised to get an evacuation bill for $30K. They failed to plan and caused the issue. Hikers inside a state or national park, on a trail, who checked in with the ranger station, but need rescue don't get billed. Helicopter time is almost always billed, regardless of the reason. Different US states have different laws. New Hampshire bills for negligent or reckless behaviors which require aid.

But more local governments are asking the people they have to save to pitch in. Eight states - California, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and Idaho - now allow local authorities to recoup money spent on rescue efforts.

Same in Canada and Europe: http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1892621,00.html

Maybe this story doesn't translate to Japan, but there is an Aesop's fables story about a boy who cried wolf when there wasn't one, just to get attention. When a real wolf does show up, nobody believes the boy.

I don't care that he is gay or black. The hoax is the issue.

Last week prosecutors dropped all charges against Smollett

Why did they do this? What is going on here? Did he really fake this incident? If so, why did they drop the charges?

if he hasn't been charged why on Earth would he need to pay the police for overtime investigation? If the police and prosecutors are in agreement that it was a hoax, then why not charge him?

He was charged.

The prosecutor dropped the charges saying that his forfeiting his bond ($10,000) and doing 2 days of community service is about what he would have received if the case went to trial. So the outcome is about the same as what would have happened anyway and saves the time and cost of a trial.

Other prosecutors disagree. They agree that plea deals to avoid trials are common, BUT they involve the defendant admitting guilt or at the very least making an Alford plea. That results in the defendant having a record, whereas in Smollett's case there will be no record.

But do wasters of police time always get sue to pay police overtime?

> Does this happen a lot in the US? I just googled "sue" "police" "overtime pay" and other such terms.

No, they don't always get sued. But people who waste the time of emergency services sometimes do have to pay. Expand your search. Here are articles about charging for false security alarms, false fire alarms and false 911 calls. The last one is even from the Chicago Tribune.

https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/05/22/la-fines-for-false-fire-alarms/

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20170313/security-system-false-alarms-columbus-makes-you-pay

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-02-04-9802040253-story.html

Did he really fake this incident? If so, why did they drop the charges?

Yes, he did. The charges were dropped because of politics, political correctness and him having friends in high places.

Don't forget the best part of the "story." He fights off two attackers while safely holding onto his Subway sandwich. He can be the new Jared. #subwayforlife

TorafusuTorasan - news flash, "the charges" were already dropped. Did you mean drop this new lawsuit? Is that within the power of the mayor to get lawsuits dropped?

The rule of law is that a suspect can't face double jeopardy (be tried) twice for the same crime. However, Smollett's freedom, and money, were never in jeopardy. The State Attorney chose to drop the case before it ever went to trial. That leaves open the legal option of reopening Smollett's case, as well as the unsealing of the case file. If Smollett was smart, he should have kept his mouth shut, and kept a very low profile for several months, or even a year.

The City of Chicago can sue Smollett for the cost of public services related to the investigation of Smollett's phoney hate crime claim. The current mayor, or the soon-to-be-incoming mayor, can recommend that city attorneys drop the suit. That's a powerful recommendation, but, thankfully, Chicago mayors no longer have the last word on everything that happens in city government. Smollett says he won't pay the 130,000 USD, but this case will be tried in a Chicago court, and heard by a Chicago judge. All of the evidence collected will be introduced at the trial. When Smollett loses, and he will, the judge could order Smollett to pay an additional 3-times the amount of the original 130,000 USD as a penalty for a total of 520,000 USD.

ShavedNuts - Don't forget the best part of the "story." He fights off two attackers while safely holding onto his Subway sandwich. He can be the new Jared. #subwayforlife

Isn't Jared (the Subway guy) currently residing in a federal prison in Colorado? He might like a new cellmate.

Don't forget the best part of the "story." He fights off two attackers while safely holding onto his Subway sandwich. He can be the new Jared. #subwayforlife

And didn't remove the noose from around his neck until he got home...

Also, we were supposed to believe that two Trump supporters were randomly walking around Chicago at night, wearing MAGA hats, carrying bottles of bleach and a noose, just looking for a gay black man to beat up. Yes, that actually would have led to a hate crime: the two Trump supporters getting beat up.

Not to mention, how many Trump supporters do you think watch 'Empire' and would know Smollett was gay? I actually knew who the guy was and didn't know. The whole story is ridiculous.

What this article doesn't tell you is that Michelle Obama's chief of staff (with her knowledge and consent I'd bet) asked Foxx to drop the charges.

So what you have is an entitled black women asking another entitled black woman to Grant favors to an entitled black man

Did I forget to mention that Smollett and Michelle Obama were acquaintances?

Just Google "pictures of Jesse Smollett and Michelle Obama together", they are good buddies. And people wonder why the charges were dropped mysteriously

You wouldn't have to get something in order to help a friend.

Even if tey are good buddies, what would Michelle Obama have to gain by Smollett's charges being dropped? The guy is a weasel, a dirtbag. Simple as that.

It doesn’t really matter what she would gain, It’s public knowledge that her former chief of staff tried to intervene in the investigation, so it’s a fact that the Obamas at least tried to get involved.

Shortly after, all charges are dismissed and the records are sealed so no one can know why, against the wishes of the prosecution and the Chicago PD, including the chief, who all insist the evidence is there that he is guilty.

You have to admit, that is highly suspicious and stinks of someone doing a favor for somebody with some pull. With the evidence stacked against him like it is, logic would tell you that it was someone with the last name Obama.

@jpn_guy, reading between the lines, the lawsuit is more about sending a message, possibly to the ex-federal prosecutor just elected as new mayor. Kind of testing her priorities as an outsider/newcomer.

Public servants--police, teachers, public office holders--no doubt get their time wasted on a near daily basis, but rarely by someone high profile enough to make a lawsuit pay off. Notably, the amount of overtime reimbursement is almost the same as the amount Smollett was paid for an episode of Empire. Coincidental to set the damages at that dollar amount? You be the judge.

starpunk - Even if tey are good buddies, what would Michelle Obama have to gain by Smollett's charges being dropped? The guy is a weasel, a dirtbag. Simple as that.

Influence. Word gets around and people know who to go to when they get in trouble. In Chicago, that is known as "clout" (as in "who's your clout"?) If your "clout" is more powerful than my "clout", you win and the discussion/confrontation is over.

Proving that the innocent are innocent is not that difficult. Getting charges dropped against the obviously guilty shows how influential you are. The rich, the famous, and the guilty will want you as their new bestest buddy.

@cla68--news flash, "the charges" were already dropped. Did you mean drop this new lawsuit? Is that within the power of the mayor to get lawsuits dropped?

What friends in high places does he have?

Michelle Obama and Tina Tchen, Mrs. Obama's former Chief of Staff.

If there is a case, why has the case been dropped?

So there won't be a record of conviction against him.

And why are the police suing him for a case that they have dropped?

The police didn't drop the case, the prosecutor did.

Do they often do this?

Yes, emergency services often charge people for false reports/alarms.

None of this makes sense.

It all makes plenty of sense given the current PC culture in the US and the ongoing situation where people with money and power get treated differently by the courts.

Yes, he did. The charges were dropped because of politics, political correctness and him having friends in high places.

What friends in high places does he have? If there is a case, why has the case been dropped? And why are the police suing him for a case that they have dropped? Do they often do this? None of this makes sense.

The new mayor may drop the charges which won’t get her off to a good start with the police.

sensei258Today 08:59 am JSTJust Google "pictures of Jesse Smollett and Michelle Obama together", they are good buddies. And people wonder why the charges were dropped mysteriously

Even if tey are good buddies, what would Michelle Obama have to gain by Smollett's charges being dropped? The guy is a weasel, a dirtbag. Simple as that.

Why not just drop it. For a city that preaches about being inclusive etc this smacks of being vindictive.