Photo courtesy of Winston Boogie Smith/ Facebook.
According to the Star Tribune, Winston Boogie Smith Jr. was shot and killed by the police in Minneapolis on June 3. Smith was killed on the top level of a parking garage. He was 32-years-old.
Witnesses in the area heard at least 12 shots being fired on the roof. The U.S. Marshals Service Task Force claimed that Smith brandished a handgun, and the marshals fired back. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.
The devoted father was killed inside his vehicle around 2 p.m. as police tried to serve him a warrant for allegedly being a felon and possessing a weapon. Law enforcement claims that it was a clean shot, but others deny the cops’ take on the shooting. Authorities said that the police were not wearing body cameras and that there is no footage of the shooting. The task force is named the North Star Fugitive Task Force.
“The U.S. Marshal Service currently does not allow the use of body cameras for officers serving on its North Star Fugitive Task Force. There is no squad camera footage of the incident.”
Family and friends of Smith are asking anyone who may have video of the shooting to come forward. A 27-year-old woman was also in the vehicle with Smith at the time of the shooting and was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center for cuts from the windshield glass.
On Smith’s Facebook page, Ty Henderson posted that Smith, who was a musician, was reaching for his cellphone to record the police.
“Winston Boogie Smith Didn’t have NO GUN. He didn’t SHOOT AT NO POLICE,” wrote Henderson. “He grabbed his PHONE!!! He was going on FB LIVE!!! They pulled up on him in UNMARKED CARS after a DATE. In REGULAR CLOTHES. They didn’t ANNOUNCE THEMSELVES. They didn’t give him a chance to GET OUT THE CAR. Then they SPRAYED the car 10 TIMES. The girl he was with was SUPPOSED to DIE TOO. But she didn’t. And that’s where they MESSED UP!!! Now we are the only ones with PROOF. The police LIED. And that’s why there’s NO FOOTAGE. WE ARE LITERALLY WITNESSING ONE OF THE BIGGEST COVER UPS WE HAVE EVER SEEN. And it happened RIGHT HERE. IN OUR CITY. WAKE TF UP!!!!”
Authorities say that there is evidence that Smith fired at them from inside his vehicle. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension claims to have found a handgun and spent cartridge casings inside the young man’s vehicle.
Twenty-seven people were arrested Friday after protests took place in the area. At least 100 protesters were on the scene on Sunday, June 6.
Smith was known as “Wince Me Boi” in Minnesota for his parodies and comedy videos. He was also a father of three. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover funeral costs.