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Ex-Officer Found Not Guilty After Fatally Shooting Sylville Smith

Former Milwaukee police Officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown was found not guilty in the death of Sylville Smith.
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Almost a year after former police Officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown fatally shot Sylville Smith, a jury found him not guilty of first-degree reckless homicide.

Smith was killed in August 2016 after fleeing a traffic stop. He was reportedly armed when he led officers on a foot chase, and Heaggan-Brown's lawyers argued that the former officer was acting in self-defense.

Police body camera videos — some of which were not released to the public — were integral to the investigation. The videos show that Heaggan-Brown fired two shots. The second one ultimately killed Smith.

The shooting prompted violent protests in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood.

Heaggan-Brown is still facing multiple charges of sexual assault. The crimes are not connected to Smith's death, but they are the reason he was fired from the Milwaukee police force.