-Angelot Ndongmo-

Cousins!

Mind your manners! In a recent interview following Jussie Smollet’s guilty verdict, former Chicago Police Chief, Eddie Johnson, told the media if the actor had just apologized for his misuse of police resources and manpower, they would have let him skip off!

Instead, it feels like Smollett found confidence in his “Nobody’s gonna know – They’re gonna know” type of conversation he had with his accomplices before committing the act. The former “Empire” actor did not come clean and took the position of ‘that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Black Enterprise reported that Johnson explained the actors’ story essentially smelled fishy (pun intended) the moment the investigation began. The former chief said , “I was concerned because I don’t think there’s many black people in America with a noose around their neck and wouldn’t immediately take it off,” he said. “And the way he was so nonchalant handling it gave me cause for concern. But I would not let the police department make him an offender until the evidence just go to be so overwhelming. I stopped the department from calling him an offender for quite a while.”

In addition, Johnson explained Jussie had maintained its pristine condition during the attack. He says this was the final nail in the coffin that sealed any chance at being believed.

“He comes back, gets attacked in a supposed hate crime, and during all this scuffle, they poured bleach on him. When he got up and went into his apartment building, he got up and still had that Subway sandwich with him. That doesn’t happen. When people get attacked like that, whatever belongings they have out there, they usually leave it until the police can go back with them because they’re afraid.”

The Osundario brothers who were in on it with Smollett practiced humility and confessed to their bogus beat down. At that point, the trial could have been avoided, had the disgraced actor simply come clean and apologized. Johnson stated, “myself and Mayor [Rahm] Emanuel were upset at the time that [he] stained our city and you put all that manpower into it but I want people to understand this. This was not the most heinous crime of the century. He didn’t kill anybody. He didn’t blow up a building. We would have been more than happy with just an apology at the end of all that we uncovered but for some reason, he just wanted to keep going down this road that he was actually a victim.”

Smollett now could possibly face years behind the wall for his shameless insistence of playing the victim. The Daily Mail UK noted the actor stands by his mistrust for the Chicago Police department. His lawyer has indicated they plan to appeal the verdict. Smollett’s sentencing date has not yet been announced.

Cousins! If you were caught capping, would you have come clean? Or are you sticking to it with two fingers criss crossed behind your back? Sound off below!