By: Earnest Wright | 06-15-2017 | News
Photo credit: Milwaukee Police Department

Milwaukee Officer's Trial: Jurors to See 2nd Bodycam Video

A second set of body camera footage from a Milwaukee police officer was to be shown in court by prosecutors on Thursday. The footage was from the officer who fatally shot a black man following a traffic stop last August causing two nights of rioting.

The reckless homicide that led to the death of 23-year-old Sylville Smith saw Dominique Heaggan-Brown charged with first-degree homicide.

The bodycam video was seen by jurors at Heaggan-Brown's trial on Wednesday from the vantage point of another officer on the scene. The video showed a foot chase that eventually turned ugly, a scene so dramatic that some of Smith's relatives left the courtroom in tears.

The video of the shooting was shown for the first time to the public. The video shows rapid turn of events that claimed the life of Smith.

The Aug.23 shooting led to two nights of riots in the predominantly black neighborhood where it happened.

The other officer's footage shows Heaggan-Brown getting out of the car and almost immediately begin running after Smith, who was holding a gun. The camera shows Heaggan-Brown running behind Smith and turning into a path in between two houses.

After a few seconds, Heggan-Brown, 25, is seen shooting Smith twice in quick succession, once in the arm and a second time in the chest while he's on the ground, his body jerking as each bullet struck.

The footage was so cruel that Smith's relatives began weeping and several left the courtroom. The reaction prompted the judge to break and remove the jury from the room while he and attorneys discussed whether the emotional display from Smith's relatives would influence jurors.

Heaggan-Brown was fired in October after being charged with sexual assault in an unrelated case. He also faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted for killing Smith.

Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm argues the second shot that killed Smith was unnecessary because he had thrown his gun over a fence. However, one of Heaggan-Brown's defense attorneys, Jonathan Smith, said the officer feared for his safety and was making a split-second decision.

Source:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/jurors-officers-trial-see-defendants-bodycam-footage-154255952.html

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1 Comment/s
Anonymous No. 3750 2017-06-15 : 20:59

I'm curious, did his relatives also weep for whoever the victims of Smith were? Or perhaps it is a case of 'It's ok for me, but not you'

Hypocrisy, not just for Trumps

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