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. 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.