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Former Black Cop At Center Of Milwaukee Riots Found Not Guilty In Fatal Shooting

REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

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Amber Randall Civil Rights Reporter
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A jury cleared a former black Milwaukee police officer of all charges in connection to his shooting of a black man Wednesday.

Former officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown was found not guilty of first degree reckless homicide and of second degree reckless homicide by negligent use of a weapon by a jury of nine women and three men.

“We prosecuted a strong case. It’s a decision the community had to make,” Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said, expressing disappointment over the case.

Heaggan-Brown fatally shot Sylville Smith after Smith fled from a traffic stop with a gun last November. Heaggan-Brown pursued Smith and shot him in the arm and in the chest. Prosecution argued that the second shot was unnecessary because Smith had tossed his gun away by that point.

“Mr. Heaggan-Brown knew at the time he fired that second shot that Sylville Smith had already disarmed himself,” Chisholm explained to the jury. “He knew that Sylville Smith was attempting to surrender.”

Defense lawyers for Heaggan-Brown argued that only 1.69 seconds passed from the time Smith was shot in the arm and then shot in the chest. Heaggan-Brown fired because he feared his life, his defense lawyer said.

“The state admits that the first shot was a justified shot. And our argument is that justification did not change over the course of 1.69 seconds between shots,”  defense attorney Jonathan Smith told the jury.

Smith’s family and supporters were disappointed by the ruling, with some crying when the announcement was made. The family now plans to file a lawsuit against Heaggan-Brown and the Milwaukee city.

Heaggan-Brown no longer works with the police department. He was fired after being accused of the sexual assault of another man.

The fatal shooting sparked violent riots in Milwaukee as protesters looted businesses and attacked journalists.

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