Attorneys: Woman never saw a gun on man shot by task force

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys for the woman in a vehicle when members of a federal U.S. Marshals Service task force fatally shot the driver last week said their client never saw a gun on the man or in the vehicle.

The statement from the woman’s attorneys disputes investigators’ statements that Winston Boogie Smith Jr., who was Black, displayed a handgun before officers on the task force opened fire June 3 in Minneapolis. The woman’s attorneys did not release their client’s name.

Authorities say the task force was trying to arrest Smith on a weapons violation. State investigators stand by their initial statement that said evidence showed he fired a gun from inside the vehicle.