Former Milwaukee police officer is acquitted in shooting death of armed man lying on the ground
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A former Milwaukee police officer was acquitted of reckless homicide on Wednesday in the shooting death of an armed man who was lying on the ground when the fatal shot was fired.
Prosecutors had argued Dominique Heaggan-Brown committed a felony when he fired the shot that killed 23-year-old Sylville Smith, report the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the New York Times and The Associated Press.
Bodycam video showed Heaggan-Brown had fired two shots. The first hit Smith in the arm as he appeared to throw his gun over the fence. Prosecutors argued that shot was justified. The second shot hit Smith in the chest while he was lying on the ground.
“Shooting someone point-blank when he’s on the ground is utter disregard for life,” the prosecutor, John Chisholm, told jurors in closing arguments on Tuesday.
The defense had maintained Heaggan-Brown fired the second shot because of a “one-plus rule” he learned in his training. The rule says that if someone has one gun, he might have another.
Smith’s father, Patrick, appealed for calm after the verdict, according to the Journal-Sentinel. The shooting last August had led to days of protests and violence.
“I want the community to calm down and come together,” Patrick Smith said.
