VIDEO: Footage of Milwaukee OIS That Sparked 2016 Riots Shown at Officer's Homicide Trial
A former Milwaukee police officer on trial for killing a man fleeing a traffic stop repeatedly commented how quickly the fatal encounter unfolded as his body camera captured the chaotic scene after the shooting.
Jurors saw the video Thursday — the first time the public has seen the events surrounding the shooting that sparked two nights of riots last year in a predominantly black neighborhood, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The bodycam video from Dominique Heaggan-Brown, 25, and another officer on the scene have been the focal point of the trial. Heaggan-Brown is facing 60 years in prison if he's convicted of first-degree reckless homicide for the death of 23-year-old Sylville Smith.
Heaggan-Brown's camera shows Heaggan-Brown briefly pointing the gun at Smith as he begins running after him. He puts his gun back in his holster as Smith, who is holding a gun, turns into a path between two houses.
Smith slips and falls near a fence, dropping his gun. He begins reaching for it as he stands up, his left hand holding the fence.
When the video is slowed frame by frame, Smith is seen holding the gun by the barrel to throw it over the fence. Prosecutors argue that shows Smith no longer posed a threat.
The two shots by Heaggan-Brown came in quick succession — within two seconds of each other — striking Smith once in his right arm and then in the chest.
