This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40357361
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
Milwaukee officer cleared in shooting that sparked riots | Milwaukee officer cleared in shooting that sparked riots |
(35 minutes later) | |
A former Milwaukee police officer has been acquitted of first-degree reckless homicide in the shooting of a black man last year. | A former Milwaukee police officer has been acquitted of first-degree reckless homicide in the shooting of a black man last year. |
Dominique Heaggan-Brown shot and killed Sylville Smith, 23, last August after he fled from police. The death sparked two days of riots in Milwaukee. | Dominique Heaggan-Brown shot and killed Sylville Smith, 23, last August after he fled from police. The death sparked two days of riots in Milwaukee. |
Mr Smith was armed with a pistol, but threw it over a fence before his death. | Mr Smith was armed with a pistol, but threw it over a fence before his death. |
The case is one of several involving the police shooting of black men that has sparked protests nationwide. | The case is one of several involving the police shooting of black men that has sparked protests nationwide. |
Attorneys for Mr Heaggan-Brown, who is also black, argued that the former officer was forced to make a quick decision during a foot chase with an armed man. | Attorneys for Mr Heaggan-Brown, who is also black, argued that the former officer was forced to make a quick decision during a foot chase with an armed man. |
But prosecutors contended that police body camera footage allegedly showed the officer shooting Mr Smith in the chest as he lay on the ground. | But prosecutors contended that police body camera footage allegedly showed the officer shooting Mr Smith in the chest as he lay on the ground. |
Mr Heaggan-Brown shot Mr Smith on his right arm as he threw his gun away and again, in the chest, 1.69 second later, according to investigators. | Mr Heaggan-Brown shot Mr Smith on his right arm as he threw his gun away and again, in the chest, 1.69 second later, according to investigators. |
A review of the body camera footage showed "that at the time of the second shot, Smith was unarmed and had his hands near his head". | A review of the body camera footage showed "that at the time of the second shot, Smith was unarmed and had his hands near his head". |
Mr Heaggan-Brown had already been fired from the police force due to a separate investigation accusing him of sexual assault. | Mr Heaggan-Brown had already been fired from the police force due to a separate investigation accusing him of sexual assault. |
He faces a jury trial in August in that case, in which he is accused of raping a man with whom he had been drinking. | |
He is also accused of offering two other men money for sex and faces one charge of capturing an intimate representation of a person without consent. |