2016 Milwaukee riots
On August 13, 2016, a riot began in the Sherman Park neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sparked by the fatal police shooting of 23-year-old Sylville Smith. During the three-day turmoil, several people, including police officers, were injured and dozens of protesters arrested. A nightly curfew was set up for teenagers in the area.
| 2016 Milwaukee riots | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | August 13–15, 2016 | ||
| Location | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. North Sherman and West Auer 43.077°N 87.9675°W | ||
| Caused by | Fatal shooting of Sylville Smith by police | ||
| Methods | Protests, rioting, looting, arson, shooting, assaults | ||
| Parties | |||
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| Number | |||
| |||
| Casualties, arrests, prosecution | |||
| Death(s) | 1 | ||
| Injuries | 10+ | ||
| Arrested | 41 | ||
| Charged | 5 demonstrators, 1 police officer | ||
| Outcome | Milwaukee Police Department Victory | ||
Smith was running on foot and armed with a stolen handgun when he was shot. Smith and the officer who fired the fatal shots, Dominique Heaggan-Brown, were both African-American. Video from the officer's bodycam showed that Smith had turned with the gun in his hand toward the officer just before the officer shot him.
Heaggan-Brown was criminally charged with Smith's death and acquitted at trial. This was the first homicide charge against a Milwaukee police officer in over a decade. A civil lawsuit is currently pending.