Wanted felon Winston Boogie Smith fired at cops before he was killed
By Gabrielle Fonrouge
New York Post
June 4, 2021
The man who was fatally shot by Minneapolis cops Thursday had demanded “war” after George Floyd’s death, was wanted on a felony-arms rap — and appeared to have fired his weapon as authorities tried to arrest him, according to court records, online posts and officials.
Winston Boogie Smith, 32, was gunned down in the Midwest city around 2 p.m. when he “produced a handgun” and fired it from inside his vehicle as members of a US Marshals task force tried to take him into custody on the state warrant, officials said.
“Evidence at the scene indicates that the man fired his weapon from inside the vehicle. BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun as well as spent cartridge cases from inside the driver’s compartment,” the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a statement.
Smith had made threatening posts after the police murder of Floyd — including some against cops.
“We got guns and bullet proof vest too or should be able to get em… why not just rush these fucks and start this war they keep asking for!” Smith raged on Facebook.
Fuck justice anyway bitch justice is an eye for eye u kill one of mine we need one of yours that’s justice! Right or wrong fuck being right cuz they keep doing us wrong.
“I’m down with the burn everything government not touch shit else I don’t even need to loot I’ll buy my shit just kill them dirty ass cops off we tired of being scared at the red light!” he wrote.
Smith was wanted in neighboring Ramsey County for failing to appear for a sentencing hearing May 19 after he pleaded guilty to felony firearm possession, court records show.
The dad of two was convicted of felony aggravated robbery in 2017 and on probation and unable to possess a firearm, records show. If he had been nabbed with a firearm by cops Thursday, he could have sent back to prison.
Aside from the robbery and firearm raps, Smith had two other arrests on his record: for driving without a license, which he was convicted of, and for stealing 20 packs of Newport cigarettes, a rap which was dismissed. He also had been cited 15 times for traffic violations such as speeding and parking in snow zones and received two tickets for marijuana possession.
Smith described himself on social media as a musician, actor, comedian and photographer whose “main goal is to inspire the youth” and people who’ve been misled, his Instagram bio shows.
On May 24, he shared a picture of himself posing with lawyer Ben Crump — who famously represented Floyd’s family and helped to secure a felony conviction against the ex-Minneapolis police officer who killed him, Derek Chauvin. The photo is a selfie of the two and the caption states “#Greatness.”
Smith had two daughters.
He frequently posted videos on social media of comedy skits he was involved with.
Dozens of friends posted on his Facebook late Thursday and early Friday to lament his death.
“this can’t be real… 
My soul hurts so bad right now…,” Shelly Hopkins wrote Friday morning.
“you didn’t deserve that… this is just crazy….”
__________
By Lee Brown
New York Post
June 4, 2021
Angry protesters lit fires, looted stores and taunted cops in Minneapolis overnight after officers Thursday shot and killed a fugitive who fired at them as they closed in to arrest him, authorities said.
Members of a US Marshals task force were attempting to arrest the felon — identified by friends as 32-year-old rapper Winston Boogie Smith — around 2 p.m. on a state warrant for being a criminal in possession of a firearm, authorities said.
“During the incident, the subject, who was in a parked car, failed to comply and produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject,” the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department, which was part of the task force involved in the fatal arrest, said in a statement late Thursday.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension then said Friday, “Evidence at the scene indicates that the man fired his weapon from inside the vehicle.
“BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun as well as spent cartridge cases from inside the driver’s compartment,” the agency added.
The man killed has since been identified as Smith by local media and friends and family on social media.
Smith was convicted of aggravated robbery in 2017 and received a stayed prison sentence and was put on probation, according to WCCO.
A warrant was then issued for his arrest after he skipped a probation violation hearing in May — which would have sent him to prison, the outlet said.
Officers attempted to revive Smith after he was shot, but he was declared dead by paramedics on the scene. A woman who was in the car with the suspect sustained minor injuries from shattered glass, the statement said.
Several law-enforcement agencies had been involved in the fatal arrest, including local sheriff’s offices as well as the federal Department of Homeland Security, the statements said.
At least two officers opened fire — sheriff’s deputies from Hennepin County and Ramsey County, the BCA said. Minneapolis police were not involved in the task-force operation.
However, “there is no squad camera footage of the incident,” the BCA said, because “the US Marshal Service currently does not allow the use of body cameras for officers serving” on the fugitive task force involved.
Protesters shouted insults and anti-cop slogans at Minneapolis police, whose officers were deployed to provide perimeter support, the paper said.
The shooting quickly intensified angry protests already raging over the dismantling of George Floyd Square before any real details of the shooting emerged — with videos showing several large fires burning in the street.Police fired flash bangs, and numerous buildings were vandalized and stores looted, police confirmed to KTSP.
“Stop burning shit!” one infuriated woman told people standing staring at one of the fires, caught in a video by local journalist Rebecca Brannon.
The video journalist also said officers fired tear gas at protesters as she shared footage of a line of cops marching to protect areas around a large fire.
She also filmed a completely smashed-up CVS, as well as a mob of looters crawling through shattered windows to raid a T-mobile store.
Protesters called cops “fucking Nazis” and “white supremacists,” while graffitti on buildings included threats like “kill cops” and “no trial for them,” according to images shared online.
Yet protest group organizers admitted that they were responding even when they didn’t “know anything” about the shooting.
“We understand the anger and ire when we see these police shootings,” Pharoah Merritt of crime prevention group We Push for Peace told the local paper.
While arrests were made, a final tally was not initially released because the violence continued into the early hours Friday, officials told the Star Tribune.
The protests were around 3 miles from where George Floyd was killed by ex-cop Derek Chauvin in May last year — with local stores still boarded up from other riots since then, the local paper noted.
Protesters had already been out in force in anger at city workers finally dismantling the so-called “autonomous zone” that had blocked off traffic for a year at the site where Floyd was murdered.
As soon as workers removed concrete barriers and parts of the memorial blocking the street, around 150 protesters there started parking cars and piling pallets in the streets again, the Star Tribune said.
Many remained discussing future plans, with the crowd dwindling after news came of the shooting, reports said.
Mayor Jacob Frey said “it will be a bit touch and go and difficult over the next several days” as the city tries to enforce the new area, which will still keep the several-foot-tall statue of a raised fist.
As well as Floyd’s murder, the city was also rocked in April by the case of Daunte Wright, a black motorist who was fatally shot by an officer in the nearby suburb of Brooklyn Center.
The officers in Thursday’s shooting were all put on administrative leave. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will lead the investigation.
The BCA said it is “in the very early stages of its investigation” and “will provide additional information as the investigation progresses.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Faceebook banned Trump for two years, but they let the late Boogie call for the killing of cops.
“We got guns and bullet proof vest too or should be able to get em… why not just rush these fucks and start this war they keep asking for!” Smith raged on Facebook.
Fuck justice anyway bitch justice is an eye for eye u kill one of mine we need one of yours that’s justice! Right or wrong fuck being right cuz they keep doing us wrong.
“I’m down with the burn everything government not touch shit else I don’t even need to loot I’ll buy my shit just kill them dirty ass cops off we tired of being scared at the red light!”
1 comment:
Sounds like his last Terroristic Threat toward law enforcement. I'll bet real estate prices are dropping in Milwaukee.
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