The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced that it has obtained an unseen video of the fatal shooting of Winston Smith by law enforcement in June of 2021.

The BCA states that during its 2021 investigation of the shooting, investigators learned that Smith may have tried to record or livestream a video during the incident. However, authorities weren’t able to unlock the phone at the time and couldn’t confirm that the video existed.

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The Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office declined charges against the officers involved and returned the evidence from the case to Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

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BCA agents learned that another entity may have accessed the phone and found video and got the phone back from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in 2023. Since November of 2023, the unlocking software tried over 780,000 password combinations and finally unlocked the phone on Nov. 21, 2024.

The BCA confirmed that the phone has a video of the shooting and turned it over to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, along with the case file.

The Attorney’s Office confirmed it is reviewing the video.

“After accessing the video on Winston Smith’s phone, the BCA immediately informed our office and provided it to us. It is currently under review,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. “We appreciate the BCA’s due diligence and promptness in sharing the video after it was recovered. We will communicate further updates as available.”