Excessive force lawsuit filed against 2 MPD officers, including Dominique Heaggan-Brown



MILWAUKEE -- More legal problems for the Milwaukee police officer who fatally shot Sylville Smith. A civil rights lawsuit has been filed against Dominique Heaggan-Brown -- not for the Sherman Park shooting, but in connection to a different arrest in which a man claims Heaggan-Brown and another MPD officer used excessive force.

Dominique Heaggan-Brown



FOX6 News first told you about this case over the summer. The lawsuit states back on April 15th, Heaggan-Brown and another officer violated the plaintiff's constitutional rights.

Police body camera footage shows what happened after the two officers approached Ronnie Martin, as he was sitting in the passenger seat of a car in a gas station parking lot at the corner of Capitol and Sherman.



"I believe they signaled me to move the vehicle, when I attempted to move the vehicle, I was snatched out of the vehicle, slammed to the ground on my face, tased by both officers," Martin said.

In the video, one of the officers can be heard saying Martin had a plastic bag in his hand.

"He tried to stuff it. He tried to jump over to the driver's seat and jump out," said the officer in the video.

Ronnie



"They even took me to the district after I was released from the hospital and strip searched me, and they still never found a bag," Martin said.

In this civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court on Friday, Martin's attorney's name Dominique Heaggan-Brown as one of the two officers who allegedly used excessive, unreasonable and unjustified force against Martin -- causing serious physical and emotional pain.

Ronnie



Back on August 11th, Martin's lawyers filed an excessive force claim with the city about the incident. It was just two days later when Heaggan-Brown shot and killed Sylville Smith during a traffic stop at 44th and Auer, sparking violent protests in Sherman Park that weekend.

Martin's attorneys are asking for a jury trial, and seeking unspecified damages.