City of Chicago sues Jussie Smollett for investigation costs

April 12, 2019, 00:43 GMT

By Phil Helsel

The city of Chicago has filed a civil complaint against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, claiming damages from the artist's complaint about an alleged police attack that allegedly orchestrated the attack, announced Thursday the legal department of the city.

The department filed the civil complaint "which pursues all the damages allowed under the False Claims Ordinance", and follows Smollett's refusal to reimburse the city for overtime done by the police in the investigation, said department spokesman Bill McCaffrey in a statement.

Smollett, 36, was charged by a grand jury after the authorities claimed to have alleged at the end of January that he had been assaulted by two men who had insulted him in a racist and anti-racist way. -Gay. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Smollett in March.

The controversial decision was not an exoneration, prosecutors said, and the agreement involved two days of community service and the confiscation of a $ 10,000 bond that he had paid to the city.

Smollett said, after discontinuing the lawsuits, that he was "truthful" since the start of the case.

The city authorities announced at the end of March that they wanted Smollett to pay about $ 130,000 and threatened legal action in case of refusal.

Smollett's lawyer, Mark Geragos, wrote in a letter earlier this month that Smollett would not be "intimidated" to pay the amount.

After Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked the actor to pay back the city, Smollett's lawyers said the mayor and the police department must apologize to Smollett "for dragging the innocent person into the mud. "and that" Jussie had paid enough ".

The civil complaint alleges that, despite Smollett's claim to be attacked, he "knew his attackers and himself orchestrated the so-called attack", and that the city had incurred significant costs.

The complaint states that the Chicago police recorded more than 1,800 hours of overtime, which cost the city $ 130,106 overtime.

Smollett should also be fined 1,000 US dollars for each false statement he allegedly made, and ask the court "to order the defendant to pay the City the costs of the response. of an amount to be proved at trial ".

Phil Helsel is a journalist for NBC News.