A new video sheds more light on the fatal January 18 shooting of Leevon Smith on Chicago’s notoriously violent South Side by an off-duty police officer after Smith attempted to steal his personal weapon.
In the new footage, the officer, 30, can be seen engaged in a dispute between four men, including Smith, 39, outside an apartment building. Much of the audio in the clip is inaudible, but at one point the officer tells the group that he “calm down.”
As three of the men walk away, the officer turns his back on Smith, who then tries to grab his gun. They fight and end up wrestling on the ground with one of their Crocs coming out. Two gunshots can be heard in which Smith can be heard saying, “You got me, you got me.”
While yelling at the neighbors to call 911, the officer yells at Smith, “I told your idiot I was going to kill you.” He then fires a third and final shot.
At various points in the new video, the officer can be seen shielding Smith from the three men by standing in front of him.
Leevon Smith stands behind the officer with her arms raised as she shields him from three other men.
The new video shows three other men trying to tackle Smith.
It comes as Smith’s sister, Tequila Smith, filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city of Chicago and the police officer.
Tequila is seeking the large sum as she suffered “loss of companionship and society, pain, sadness and mental anguish” following her brother’s death. The Smith family is being represented by Chicago-based civil rights attorney David Kadzai.
The officer is accused of using violent and excessive physical force to kill Smith, whose name is repeatedly misspelled in the documents.
Documents seen by the Daily Mail show the lawsuit makes no mention of the fight between Smith and the officer before the shooting.
According to the lawsuit, the fight that led to the shooting began as an argument between Smith and his girlfriend outside the apartment building where they both lived.
The suit speeds through the confrontation with the other three men and Smith fighting with the officer.
“The officer confronted (Smith and) began to struggle with him and told Mr. Smith, ‘I’m going to shoot you,'” the lawsuit reads.
At various points in the video, the officer can be seen shielding Smith from the group.
Eventually, Smith stands with the officer as the other men leave the scene.
In the original video, Smith can be heard begging for his life saying, ‘Damn, honey, I’m sorry. I don’t want to die.
“You thought I was playing, I told you I’d shoot you,” she replies. ‘I told your idiot that I would shoot you. You tried to steal my fucking gun.
‘Didn’t I just say that I would kill you? Didn’t I just say that I would kill you? she adds.
‘I told your fool ** that I would shoot you. You tried to steal my fucking gun. I don’t give a shit about him. He just tried to rob me,’ she yells for her neighbors to hear.
Finally, the officer called 911 and told the dispatcher, “Oh my gosh, he just tried to rob me.” He just tried to steal my off-duty gun.
In the call, she identifies herself as a police officer and says that she had been trying to call her bosses, but her calls were not returned.
The officer has been on the job since June 2022, the Chicago Sun Times reports.
The officer can be seen pointing his ‘off-duty’ gun at Leevon Smith before firing three shots.
The officer, who has been on the job since June 2022, pictured with the suspect after the original fight ended.
When the officer’s back is turned, Smith begins trying to grab her.
The officer reacts immediately and begins to fight his attacker.
Eventually, the officer is able to get the upper hand and gains control of his gun, shooting Smith at point blank range.
After injuring Smith, the officer held him upright for a while.
After Smith fell, the officer stood over him, his Croc shoe that came off in the struggle can be seen in the background.
Another officer arrives at the scene before an ambulance. That cop asks the shooter: ‘Where did you hit him?’ ‘I don’t know,’ she replies. ‘Fit. I can’t believe this happened to me,’ she said too.
The arrest report describes the lead up to the shooting as a “verbal argument” and accuses Smith of “trying to disarm her.”
A tactical report on the incident describes the officer as being in “imminent danger” when Smith attempted to reach for her firearm. She has not been charged with any crime.
In a 911 call about the original storyline released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, a voice can be heard saying, “Just give me back my bag, bro.”
A neighbor can be heard saying on a 911 call about the shooting: “There’s a lady outside with a gun and she shot somebody.” …She’s going in with the gun.
“The fight they had, it almost made me cry because she is such a little person. I’m glad she was able to stick together and do what she had to do to get out alive,” another neighbor who witnessed the shooting told Fox Chicago.
Smith died three days after the shooting at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
Before his death, Smith was charged with aggravated assault and attempted robbery in connection with the brawl.
As a result of the shooting, the officer was placed on administrative leave for 30 days. She was also treated for a laceration over her right eye. The officer has not been charged with any crime.