Officer fired over a different investigation
The shooting sparked days of unrest in the Sherman Park section of Milwaukee, a city long torn by racial tensions. The shooting death sparked days of unrest in Milwaukee. His testimony centered on the 1.69 seconds separating the two shots. In Cincinnati, a jury began deliberations Monday in the retrial of former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing in the fatal shooting of a motorist during a July 2015 traffic stop. Heaggan-Brown experienced the encounter in “real time,” not in frame-by-frame motion as it was shown to the jury, Willis said, according to WTMJ. Willis testified that Heaggan-Brown acted in “accordance with his training,” CNN affiliate WTMJ-TV reported. Smith exit the vehicle. Members of Smith’s family could be heard crying in the courtroom as the verdict was read. Heaggan-Brown knew at the time he fired that second shot that Sylville Smith had already disarmed himself,” Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm told the jury, CNN affiliate WISN-TV reported. Heaggan-Brown had previously said he believed Smith “was reaching for his waist so he discharged his weapon a second time.”
In an interview with WITI, Smith’s brother Sedan said: “It’s the longest 30 seconds of my life to be able to just watch the video.”
Heaggan-Brown is the third US law enforcement officer to be tried for a shooting in the last week. An autopsy showed that Smith had a gunshot wound through his upper right arm and another to his right upper chest. The defense attorney called for a mistrial, saying the family’s response could influence the jury, according to CNN affiliate WITI-TV. Dominque Heaggan-Brown is seen in a booking photo obtained by KTLA sister station WITI. We have to go back — and I can’t tell exactly how many frames but we have to go back two-tenths or three-tenths of a second — we have to go back several frames … to delve into the decision-making process that goes into firing this shot.”
Willis, who wrote the use of force manual used by Milwaukee police officers, told the jury that Heaggan-Brown justifiably responded to a “deadly threat,” WISN reported. Heaggan-Brown still faces charges in an unrelated sexual assault investigation for which he was fired from the police department. The suspect ran across a lawn, turned a corner and headed toward a fence but slipped before reaching it. “And our argument is that justification did not change over the course of 1.69 seconds between shots.”
The defense rested Monday after calling its lone witness, Robert Willis, an expert in police use of force, according to WISN. “I saw Mr. Dominique Heaggan-Brown, the former Milwaukee police officer who fatally shot Sylville Smith during an August 2016 foot chase, was found not guilty of first-degree reckless homicide on Wednesday. Heaggan-Brown’s former partner, Ndiva Malafa, testified last week they were chasing Smith, 23, because they saw he had a gun. “He knew that Sylville Smith was attempting to surrender.”
But defense attorney Jonathan Smith argued his client followed training and fired the second, fatal shot because he believed his life was in danger. Last week, members of Sylville Smith’s family gasped as body camera footage of the August 13 foot chase was played in court. The shaky footage shows him trailing behind Heaggan-Brown, who is chasing Smith. On Friday, Minnesota police Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted of one count of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety for the fatal shooting of Philando Castile during a traffic stop last year. Smith was on the ground when he received the fatal shot. The video picks up as Malafa jumps out of this squad car. “It’s not. Conen denied the request. Judge Jeffrey Conen had instructed the jury of nine women and three men to consider lesser charges in the reckless homicide trial. The jury heard closing arguments and deliberated about five hours Tuesday. “Mr. Smith was armed with a Glock .40-caliber Model 22 semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine containing 23 rounds. But the former officer’s attorney countered that his client made a split-second decision to protect his life and that of another officer. At that moment, I believe I started to — I see him running northeast. The jury began deliberations on Tuesday, less than a year after the shooting in northwest Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood. He testified the officer’s decision to fire again was made before he even pulled the trigger. “The state admits that the first shot was a justified shot,” the lawyer told the jury, according to the station. Malafa also guided the jury through the footage frame by frame, the station reported. Prosecutors said his first shot was justified, but not the second, according to WISN. Body-camera video from another officer — played for the jury last week — showed that Heaggan-Brown shot a second bullet into Smith’s chest after the suspect hurled his weapon over a fence and had his hands near his head. The prosecutor argued that Heaggan-Brown fatally shot Smith as the suspect attempted to surrender. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Heaggan-Brown chase him as well,” Malafa testified, WITI reported. Malafa’s body camera footage was played several times in court, according to WTMJ. 43.038902
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Wisconsin Governor Activates National Guard After Milwaukee Protests Intensify In the body camera audio, which was activated 30 seconds after the shooting, Heaggan-Brown was heard yelling at Smith: “Stop reaching.” He moved Smith’s hand away from his waist, the criminal complaint said. The second shot was justified, Willis told the jury, because officers are trained to assume a suspect may have more than one weapon. I observed the firearm and at that point, we made eye contact. The reaction to the video, including sobs from Smith’s family, caused the judge to clear the courtroom. Heaggan-Brown, 25, faced 60 years in prison. “So when we see the trigger being pulled, we have to not consider that the moment of decision,” he said.