Expert defends former cop
Testimony says officer followed use-of-force rules
An expert in police training and the use of force told a jury Monday that former Milwaukee Officer Dominique HeagganBrown acted in accordance with several standards when he fatally shot an unarmed man during an on-duty encounter last summer, setting off violent reaction around Sherman Park.
Heaggan-Brown, 25, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of Sylville Smith, 23, who died Aug. 13 between two houses on N. 44th St.
Robert Willis, who literally wrote the book used in virtually all training on defense and arrest tactics in Wisconsin, broke down the 12-second foot chase, confrontation and shooting into just 22 frames from Heag- gan-Brown’s body camera video, a total of less than a second’s time.
Willis took jurors through the spectrum of force employed by officers. That includes their mere presence; verbal engagement; protective maneuvers, like grabbing or striking; and deadly force.
Using the key stills from the defendant’s perspective, Willis said Sylville Smith’s actions — running from police with a gun, then grabbing it from the ground after Smith fell at the fence — created an imminent threat that justified use of deadly force.
Prosecutors agree that shot, which hit Smith in the arm, was justified. But less than two seconds later, after Smith had thrown his gun over the fence and fallen to his back, Heaggan-Brown shot him in the chest.
Willis told the jury that all officers are trained to presume a subject with a weapon always has a second one, and said HeagganBrown reasonably feared — since he couldn’t clearly see Smith’s hands — that his writhing movements after the first shot were to get another gun.
On cross-examination, District Attorney John Chisholm again stressed that no one ever patted down, searched or handcuffed Smith after the second shot, something they would have done if they really feared he might still be armed.
Chisholm asked Willis how, after the first shot, Smith met the three requirements for being an imminent threat which would justify a second shot: the weapon was gone, he expressed no intent to harm the officers, and seemed incapable of doing so.
Willis said Smith’s intent was manifested by his earlier grab for the gun, and that his unseen hands could have grabbed a potential second gun and fired at the officers who were nearly on top of him without cover.
Willis also agreed the officer directly behind Heaggan-Brown had the same training, yet he never drew his weapon. Chisholm also played video from when Heaggan-Brown first got out of his car, and pointed his weapon at another man who did not have a gun and wasn’t running.
Willis said the officer was merely “enlarging his presence.”
Willis was the only witness for the defense. Closing arguments are expected Tuesday.
The jury, which has been sequestered for a week, could find Heaggan-Brown guilty as charged or of either of two lesser charges — second-degree reckless homicide, or homicide by negligent operation of a dangerous weapon. The offenses carry maximum penalties of 15 years and five years in prison, respectively. The charged offense carries a possible 40-year prison term.
Heaggan-Brown was fired in October after he was charged in an unrelated sexual assault case that is pending.