Jun 19 2022 25 mins
George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police was the most high-profile Minnesota law enforcement killing in a long history. In May 2016, St. Paul police, who have killed more people than Minneapolis officers, killed Jaffort Smith in the North End. In this episode of The Mothers Podcast, Matilda Smith speaks about her son, Jaffort, who was 33-years-old when he was killed by a flurry of around 50 shots from St. Paul police officers John Corcoran, Mark Grundhauser, Jeffery Korus and Michael Tschida.
This episode features a short interview from Kay Smith, Jaffort’s wife, who spoke about how the police and city handled the case and why it’s important to support other impacted families. Tragically, in the aftermath of Jaffort’s death, Kay committed suicide in late 2020.
The Mothers Podcast is a 10-episode series that puts a spotlight on mothers from across the U.S. whose children have been killed by police violence. Becoming members of a club that NO ONE would wish to join, these mothers’ stories go beyond the headlines of each case, dissecting the pain, aftermath and the struggle for accountability for the killing of their child. This exploration unveils mothers supporting mothers to overcome grief and create change within their communities all across the country.
The Mothers Podcast features the work of Unicorn Riot interviews going back to 2018 and is a precursor to Unicorn Riot’s full-length documentary film, ‘The Mothers.’ The podcast series is hosted by independent journalist Georgia Fort and Niko Georgiades of Unicorn Riot. Each episode is edited and mixed by DJ Skizz who provides original music along with original songs by MC Longshot and recorded and engineered by Malcolm Wells, along with editing and producing by Tarik Thornton (Different Worlds Music Group).
For more information: https://unicornriot.ninja/themothers