Attorneys for woman in Winston Smith's car say she did not see him with a gun
A woman in Winston Smith's car when a federal task force shot and killed him last week never saw Smith with a gun, her attorneys said Thursday — disputing authorities' claim that he shot first from the vehicle.
"She never saw a gun on Winston Smith, and she never saw a gun inside the vehicle at any time," said lawyer Racey Rodne.
He made a brief statement on the unnamed passenger's behalf Thursday at a news conference at Girard Avenue and West Lake Street, addressing reporters outside the parking garage where Smith, 32, was killed June 3.
Several activists and lawyers spoke at the emotional news conference to continue raising questions about the lack of transparency in the case, a week after officials said Smith fired from his car as a task force led by the U.S. Marshals Service tried to arrest him on a warrant from Ramsey County for being a felon in possession of a gun.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension did not immediately respond to a request for a response Thursday evening. Deputy Chief Michelle Coghill of the U.S. Marshals Service responded that the agency could not comment because the investigation is ongoing. Since asserting early on that no body or dash camera or even surveillance footage is available in the case, authorities have held no public briefings to provide further information.
The activists called on the news media to demand more transparency from law enforcement, citing an initial Star Tribune digital report after the shooting that said police scanner reports said Smith may have been a murder suspect. It was removed from the digital story. The paper has apologized for that misinformation and is reexamining its practices and policies.
The passenger and Smith had just left a date at Stella's Fish Cafe when authorities shot him on the fifth floor of the parking garage across the street. Several people close to Smith, including his brother Kidale Smith, said in recent days that the passenger told them he had been reaching for his phone so he could livestream the interaction. The woman in the car was injured by shattered glass during the shooting.
"She is extremely traumatized as a result of what happened to her ... that woman could have been killed," activist and attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong said at the news conference.
Smith's family has retained several attorneys, including Ben Crump and Jeff Storms, who represented George Floyd's family in securing a $27 million civil settlement from the city of Minneapolis after he was killed by a policeman last year. Smith had posted a photo of himself posing with Crump on Instagram around the anniversary of Floyd's death.
"The government has now just heard the people's evidence," Storms said, standing next to Kidale Smith. "The people now deserve to hear the government's evidence. There is a lack of transparency by the lack of body cameras. We now ask for the government to come forward and show us what they have to support this narrative that they created which ... was now contradicted here today."
Maya Rao • 612-673-4210
