The brother of Winston Smith, a wanted man who was shot and killed in an officer involved shooting incident after he pulled a gun on police, has spoken out about the need for police. He feels his brother’s death was an injustice but wants to work together with police to improve the justice system.
Winston Smith’s brother, Kidale Smith, was seen shaking hands and hugging police officers who were out on the streets monitoring the protests that had been taking place since his brother’s death. He reported that he felt like maybe the police officers needed a voice too.
He said, “If there’s any police officers listening, I hear you and I feel you, and I hope you can fight with me because I feel like we should fight together.”
Kidale Smith says that he believes the justice system is the problem, not the police. He also was quoted during a protest following his brother’s death as saying, “You cannot hide. You can’t hide anymore — claiming you’re US Marshals and the BCA [the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension] and you can’t release evidence?” He has been demanding that the police release any footage they have of the incident.
Kidale Smith said that he plans on holding an event for both the police and those who want the justice system to change so that they can march together. He believes that police officers also want to see change within the justice system and that they aren’t all bad.
He said, “As long as we’re separated, as long as the police feels like it’s us versus them and the community feels like it’s us versus you, we will never be able to come to an understanding of it’s not either of us.”
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and Star News Network. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “Winston Smith Protests” by Chad Davis. CC BY 2.0.
Sick of the relatives of criminals wanting to change the justice system. If this man’s brother had obeyed orders from the police, he would still be alive.
It is not the fault of the system that your brother was so intent on getting away that he tried to shoot someone.
What the hell has our world come to?