25 June, 2017
The latest high-profile prosecution of a police officer for a fatal shooting ended in an acquittal on Wednesday, as jurors cleared a Milwaukee officer of wrongdoing in the death of a 23-year-old man, Sylville K. Smith.
"That first shot was a justifiable shot and that justification did not change in 1.69 seconds", Smith said, alluding to the time that transpired before the first and second shot.
Chisholm said the case was the rare one that he felt "very strongly" he could charge and prove, aided greatly by video from body cameras worn by Heaggan-Brown and his partner.
Jury deliberations are entering a second day in the trial of a former Milwaukee police officer charged in a fatal shooting that led to riots in the majority African-American neighborhood where it happened.
He was charged with the fatal shooting of Slyville Smith last August.
On Tuesday, about 24 hours before Heaggan-Brown was acquitted, Minnesota officials released dash-cam video footage showing Yanez fatally shooting Castile, pushing that encounter into national news headlines.
The first shot hit Smith in the arm, and the second, which was sacked after Smith fell to the ground, hit him in the chest.
After Smith was shot, he fell backwards on to the ground and into a fetal-like position due to the momentum of the fall, his family says. The second shot hit Smith in the chest while he was lying on the ground. Smith, who was armed with a handgun, ran from the officers until he reached a fence.
The defense had maintained Heaggan-Brown fired the second shot because of a "one-plus rule" he learned in his training.
In the encounter with Smith, Heaggan-Brown and two other officers had approached Smith's rental vehicle because it was parked more than a foot from the curb and they believed a drug deal was about to take place. The time between the two shots was 1.69 seconds. At that moment, I believe I started to - I see him running northeast. Smith was carrying a Glock.40-caliber Model 22 semi-automatic with an extended 23 round magazine. "I think we must be mindful that a young man lost his life", said Steven Kohn.
While a jury found Heaggan-Brown not guilty of homicide, he's still facing charges for sexual assault and prostitution - and two federal civil rights lawsuits.
The family argues that Heaggan-Brown never should have been hired. The officer moved his hand away from Smith's waist, according to court documents. Prosecutors contended Smith didn't pose a threat before Heaggan-Brown fired again.
In 2012, his apartment was allegedly searched upon a shots fired call and although he was not there, police made three arrests and reported that the apartment smelled strongly of marijuana.
In the separate case, a man told investigators that Heaggan-Brown sexually assaulted him while off duty two days after the shooting death of Smith.
