As City Mulls Independent Investigation Into Marcus Smith’s Death, Tensions Run High by David Ford
3:28pm May 06, 2021 The Smith family in downtown Greensboro in 2015. From left to right: Marcus Smith, Mary Smith, George Smith, and Marcus’ brother Leonard Butler. Photo courtesy of Kim Smith.
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Greensboro’s City Council is weighing whether to open an independent investigation into the death of Marcus Deon Smith. The 38-year-old Black man died in police custody in 2018 after being wrestled to the ground, hands and feet bound together, face down on the pavement. Since his death, activists in the community have demanded justice calling him “Greensboro’s George Floyd.” The case has prompted some councilmembers to more closely examine the city’s broader policing practices.