Public Safety

How Tech Helped Chicago Police Solve the Jussie Smollett Case

Government Technology: On Feb. 20, Jussie Smollett, a 36-year-old actor known for his role in the hit TV series “Empire,” was arrested for filing a false police report and disorderly conduct in Chicago. His arrest followed weeks of growing national attention to what initially appeared to be a hate crime committed against the actor.

How Smollett’s accusation unraveled has drawn intense scrutiny, but what has been overlooked to some degree is the role that police technology played in figuring out exactly what happened between the time a threatening letter containing a suspicious white powder was sent on Jan. 22 to Smollett, followed by his alleged attack several days later and when police detectives took Smollett into custody for filing a false police report.

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