Attorneys for the state of Missouri withheld key evidence from Anthony Lamar Smith's family during a civil lawsuit, an independent investigator has found.
Smith, a 24-year-old black man, was killed in 2011 by a white St. Louis police officer in 2011. The city paid a $900,000 settlement to his young daughter — but the family's attorney, Albert Watkins, says they were short-changed by lawyers who did not tell them about "vital" DNA evidence.
Attorney General Josh Hawley commissioned the investigation after Watkins complained in September about the missing lab reports. Watkins lodged similar complaints in 2016.
Former federal prosecutor Hal Goldsmith, who is now a partner at Bryan Cave, handled the inquiry, reviewing case files and interviewing attorneys and investigators involved in the case.…