An Island Lake man, who is a convicted felon, has been found not guilty of speeding after he claimed racism and said he was pulled over for being a “black man driving a Mercedes” in Wauconda.
Levail Smith, 56, of Island Lake, was stopped by the Wauconda Police Department around 11:15 p.m. on August 17, 2025.
Smith later posted publicly on Facebook about “racism in Wauconda” and said he was profiled.
He said he was on his way home after helping some of his veteran brothers see their first live NFL game.
Smith said he left the game at halftime because he knew he had to get up for work on Monday morning at Lake County PADS.
Smith said he stopped at the BP gas station on Route 176 in Wauconda, a roadway he has driven “thousands of times” and always goes the speed limit.
Video from the traffic stop showed a police officer stopping Smith’s vehicle and informing him that he had stopped him for speeding.
“I wasn’t speeding, that’s a lie,” Smith said. The officer replied that it was not a lie and he had visually paced Smith’s vehicle going 15 mph over the limit as the officer was driving behind him.
Smith began yelling at the officer and arguing with him that he was not speeding.
“I’m going to tell the mayor about you, telling Eric Rinehart about yo a–. What’s your name? What’s your badge number?” Smith said in the video.
The officer went to his patrol car and came back a short time later, at which time he handed Smith a citation for speeding.
Smith asked for the officer’s supervisor, with the officer responding that he was the on-duty supervisor for the night, the video showed.
“I know rank and I know the mayor and I know more people than you think. You’re wrong right now,” Smith told the officer, adding that he would talk to the mayor in the morning.
The officer put the citation inside Smith’s car and began to walk away.
Smith began yelling at the officer and said he stopped him for being black, the video showed.
“Racist motherf–ker. Racist motherf–ker,” Smith yelled at the officer. “Please get home safe, sir,” the officer responded.
The Wauconda Police Department released the bodycam video of the traffic stop the day after the encounter, saying it was “committed to transparency and accountability.”
The department said it released the video of the stop to provide clarity to the community due to “online attention and false allegations.”
“The video clearly shows that the officer involved acted professionally and within the scope of his duties,” police officials said in August 2025.
“Allegations that the officer’s actions were motivated by racism are unfounded and not supported by the facts,” the department said.
Wauconda Police Chief David Wermes said he would not allow the reputation of his department or his officers to be falsely tarnished.
“Our officers serve this community with professionalism, and we are committed to making sure the truth is known,” Wermes said.
Smith, who said he was only driving 33 mph in a 35 mph zone, quickly deleted his public Facebook post where he claimed the encounter stemmed from racism and him being profiled.
“I truly think he was hoping to get a whiff of marijuana or alcohol container being open, but there was nothing happening,” Smith said in the post.
“Let’s face it. I got pulled over for being a black man driving a Mercedes in Wauconda. SMH deeply!” he added.
Court records show Smith’s traffic ticket case remained active over the past year, with him appearing in court multiple times.
A bench trial was held on Friday morning at the Mundelein Branch Traffic Courthouse and a judge found Smith not guilty of driving 15-20 mph above the limit.
Smith is a U.S. Marine veteran who served in the Middle East in Operation Desert Storm.
“My time in the Middle East affected me greatly and aggravated my underlying mental health conditions,” he said in an online profile, adding that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and now works with others who suffer mental health issues.
Smith received a $450,000 settlement from the City of Chicago after being shot multiple times by Chicago police officers in July 2014 while he was unarmed.
Court records show Smith is a convicted felon with numerous felony cases in Lake County dating back to 2004.
Those cases involve a range of charges, including armed kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated battery, armed violence, aggravated domestic battery by strangulation and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
At the time of the traffic stop in Wauconda, he was on probation in one of the cases after he pleaded guilty in August 2024 to aggravated battery in a public place in Mundelein.