Shooting of Dontre Hamilton

Last updated

Shooting of Dontre Hamilton
DateApril 30, 2014 (2014-04-30)
LocationRed Arrow Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
TypeShooting
ParticipantsChristopher Manney
OutcomeManney fired from Milwaukee Police Department
DeathsDontre Hamilton
ChargesNone filed

On April 30, 2014, Dontre Hamilton was shot and killed by police officer Christopher Manney, at Red Arrow Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. No charges were brought, but Manney was fired from the force. As a result of the shooting and subsequent protests, Milwaukee police officers were equipped with body cameras.

Contents

Background

Dontre D. Hamilton (1983 – April 30, 2014), of Milwaukee, was 31 years old at the time of his death. [1] Hamilton had a history of mental illness. [1] [2] According to Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn, Hamilton had a prior history of arrests in Milwaukee which were "directly connected to mental health issues." However, it was later revealed that Dontre had no history of arrest and the reference history actually belonged to his brother. [1] Hamilton's family stated that Hamilton had been treated for schizophrenia but was not violent. [2] [3] In the days before his death, Hamilton told his family that he was "tired and hungry, and that somebody was going to kill him." [2]

Shooting

On April 30, 2014, Manney shot Hamilton fourteen times, killing him. [3] The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel summarized the events as follows: [3]

Before the encounter, a pair of officers responding to a call that Hamilton was asleep in the park checked on him twice and found he was doing nothing wrong. When Manney arrived, he was not aware that other officers had preceded him. As Manney began to pat down Hamilton, Hamilton fought him, and a confrontation ensued. Manney tried to use his baton to subdue Hamilton, but Hamilton got control of it and swung at Manney, hitting him on the side of the neck, according to Milwaukee police internal affairs.

No additional weapons were found on Hamilton's person. [3]

Aftermath

Investigation

The investigation was carried out by the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, a statewide agency, but the lead agents for the investigation were former Milwaukee police officers. [3]

The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office conducted an investigation. In December 2014, District Attorney John Chisholm found the use of force to be in self-defense and declined to prosecute. [3] [4] [5] [6]

A federal investigation took place, [7] and was closed in November 2015, with federal authorities determining that there was insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against Manney. [8]

Firing of Manney

After the shooting, Manney applied for duty disability, saying the shooting and its aftermath caused him to experience severe post-traumatic stress disorder. [3]

Police Chief Edward Flynn fired Manney after the shooting. [9] In March 2015, a three-member panel of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission unanimously upheld the firing, sustaining and confirming the two conclusions of an internal investigation, which determined that:

  1. Manney had conducted a frisking process without a reasonable suspicion.
  2. Manney did not follow departmental "Defense and Arrest Tactics." [9]

The firing does not affect Manney's pending disability application. [9]

Lawsuit

In 2014, Jovan Blacknell was retained by the family of Hamilton. [10] [11] In 2017, the Hamilton family received a 2.3 million dollar settlement from the City of Milwaukee. [12]

Protests

Dontre's brother, Nate Hamilton, has also since co-founded the Coalition for Justice, an organization that has led rallies, marches, and street clean-ups. The Black Lives Matter movement has also protested Hamilton's death. [13]

Policy changes

In the aftermath of Hamilton's death, "Hamilton's family members worked with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Police Department and other city leaders to have all officers receive Crisis Intervention Team training, considered the gold standard for working with people in psychiatric crisis, by 2017." [3]

Additionally, eight Milwaukee aldermen and a majority of the Milwaukee Common Council, called in December 2014 for equipping all city police officers with body cameras on an expedited basis. [14] In October 2015, the Fire and Police Commission approved, by a 4–1 vote, a new policy requiring "most Milwaukee police officers to wear body cameras at all times while on duty, though they will not be required to have the devices always activated." [15] A four-phase implementation process was developed, and officers began to wear the cameras in October 2015. [16] However, following a similar police shooting of a Milwaukee black man in 2016, the Milwaukee Police Department was criticized for not submitting a review of its new patterns and practices. [17]

Film

In 2017, the film The Blood is at the Doorstep was released, which features Hamilton's family in the immediate months following his death. Directed by Erik Ljung, it was nominated for a SXSW Grand Jury Award, and won a Golden Badge Award at the Wisconsin Film Festival. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

Milwaukee Police Department Police department for the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Milwaukee Police Department is the police department organized under the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 1,800 sworn officers when at full strength and is divided into seven districts. Jeffrey B. Norman is the current chief of police, serving since December 2020.

Edward A. Flynn is an American law enforcement executive. From 2008 until 2018, Flynn served as chief of the Milwaukee Police Department. Prior to assuming that position, he served as secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and as police commissioner in Springfield, Massachusetts. Flynn was reappointed twice to the position of Milwaukee police chief before retiring in early 2018.

Ferguson Police Department (Missouri) Law enforcement agency of the city of Ferguson, Missouri, United States

The Ferguson Missouri Police Department (FPD) is a law enforcement agency serving Ferguson, Missouri. Since July 14, 2021, the Current Chief of Police has been Frank McCall Since Former Chief Jason Armstrong resigned.

Ian Wallach is an American lawyer and founding partner of the Law Offices of Ian Wallach, P.C. He is a legal news commentator who has appeared on regional, national, and international television and radio shows speaking on current legal issues.

David Clarke (sheriff) American former sheriff

David Alexander Clarke Jr. is an American former law enforcement official who served as Sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, from 2002 to 2017.

Shooting of Michael Brown 2014 fatal police shooting of a black man

On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown Jr., an 18-year-old black man, was fatally shot by 28-year-old white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the city of Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

The shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes occurred on February 10, 2015, in Pasco, Washington, United States. Zambrano, a 35-year-old man originally from Michoacán, Mexico, was shot and killed by three police officers after allegedly throwing rocks at cars and police officers. His hands were in the air when the police fired the shots. Police officers said one of the rocks was as large as a softball. A toxicology report conducted by police found Zambrano's blood tested positive for methamphetamine.

Killing of Walter Scott 2015 fatal shooting in North Charleston, South Carolina

On April 4, 2015, Walter Scott, a 50-year old black man, was fatally shot by Michael Slager, a local police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina. Slager had stopped Scott for a non-functioning brake light. Slager was charged with murder after a video surfaced showing him shooting Scott from behind while Scott was fleeing, which contradicted Slager's report of the incident. The racial difference led many to believe that the shooting was racially motivated, generating a widespread controversy.

On July 19, 2015, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Samuel DuBose, an unarmed black man, was fatally shot by Ray Tensing, a white University of Cincinnati police officer, during a traffic stop for a missing front license plate and a suspended driver's license.

The murder of Laquan McDonald took place on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. McDonald was a 17-year-old African American youth who was fatally shot by a white Chicago Police Officer, Jason Van Dyke. Police had initially reported that McDonald was behaving erratically while walking down the street, refusing to put down a knife, and that he had lunged at officers. Preliminary internal police reports described the incident similarly, leading to the shooting being judged as justifiable and Van Dyke not being charged at the time. This was later disproven after the video of the murder was released, showing that McDonald was walking away.

Killing of Alton Sterling 2016 police killing of a black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The officers, who were attempting to control Sterling's arms, shot Sterling while Sterling allegedly reached for the loaded handgun in his pants pocket. Police were responding to a report that Sterling was selling CDs and that he had used a gun to threaten a man outside a convenience store. The owner of the store where the shooting occurred said that Sterling "not the one causing trouble" during the situation that led to the police being called. The shooting was recorded by multiple bystanders.

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.

Killing of Breonna Taylor 2020 police killing in Louisville

Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment on March 13, 2020, when at least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing operations. Three Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers—Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove—were involved in the shooting. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was inside the apartment with her when the plainclothes officers knocked on the door and then forced entry. The officers said that they announced themselves as police before forcing entry, but Walker said he did not hear any announcement, thought the officers were intruders, and fired a warning shot at them. The shot hit Mattingly in the leg, and the officers fired 32 shots in return. Walker was unhurt but Taylor, who was behind Walker, was hit by six bullets and died. According to police, Taylor's home was never searched.

On August 5, 2016, Jamarion Rashad Robinson, a 26-year-old African American man who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was shot 59 times and killed in a police raid in East Point, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. The shooting occurred when at least 14 officers of a Southeast Regional Fugitive Taskforce from at least seven different agencies, led by U.S. Marshals, forcibly entered the apartment of Robinson's girlfriend to serve a warrant for his arrest. The warrant was being served on behalf of the Gwinnett County police and the Atlanta Police Department, and authorities said they had sought his arrest after he fired a gun at police or pointed a gun at police during a previous encounter. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that Robinson had been repeatedly ordered to put down a weapon and that officers who had been involved in the shooting reported Robinson fired at them three times.

Shooting of Sean Monterrosa 2020 police shooting of a Latino American man in Vallejo, California

Sean Monterrosa was a 22-year-old Latino American man who was fatally shot on June 2, 2020, by Vallejo police officer Jarrett Tonn. Monterrosa was on his knees and had his hands above his waist when Tonn shot him through the windshield of his unmarked police pickup truck. The police later said Tonn shot him because he erroneously believed a hammer in Monterrosa's pocket was a gun. Monterrosa later died at a local hospital.

Shooting of Jacob Blake 2020 police shooting in Kenosha

On August 23, 2020, Jacob S. Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was shot and seriously injured by police officer Rusten Sheskey in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sheskey shot Blake in the back four times and the side three times after Blake opened the driver's door to his girlfriend's SUV and attempted to reach inside. Sheskey said that he believed he was about to be stabbed, since Blake was carrying a knife. Earlier during the encounter, Blake had been tasered by two officers, but the tasers failed to disable him and he continued towards his vehicle.

On November 20, 2020, a mass shooting occurred at Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, United States. Eight people were injured but survived. The shooter fled the scene afterwards and was later arrested during a traffic stop. Police said the shooting was not a random act and had been sparked by an earlier altercation between two groups. Two days later, several people were arrested in connection with the shooting, including a 15-year-old boy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kissinger, Meg; Luthern, Ashley (May 2, 2014). "More training sought after fatal shooting by Milwaukee police". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Sanchick, Myra (December 24, 2014). "Documents describe Dontre Hamilton's battle with mental illness, his family's efforts to get him help". WITI . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Luthern, Ashley (December 22, 2014). "Ex-Milwaukee officer won't be charged in Dontre Hamilton shooting". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Dontre Hamilton case: Former officer not charged in fatal Milwaukee shooting". CBS News. December 22, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ Koplowitz, Howard (December 22, 2014). "Dontre Hamilton Shooting: Milkwaukee Police Officer Christopher Manney Not Charged As Protests Ignite". The International Business Times. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Milwaukee shooting: Federal probe for Dontre Hamilton death". BBC News. December 13, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  7. ↑ Luthern, Ashley (April 14, 2015). "Dontre Hamilton family to mark one-year anniversary of shooting". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Federal Officials Close Review into the Death of Dontre Hamilton". Federal Bureau of Investigation. November 10, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Luthern, Ashley (March 24, 2015). "Panel upholds firing of police officer Manney in Hamilton case". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  10. ↑ "California attorney takes interest in Dontre Hamilton's death, flies to Milwaukee". FOX6Now.com. May 9, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Dontre Hamilton family retains attorneys to gain information" . Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  12. ↑ Cherelus, Gina (June 2017). "Family Of Dontre Hamilton, Teen Killed By Police, Receives $2.5 Million Settlement". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  13. ↑ Seigle, Max (December 15, 2014). "Many participate in 'Black Lives Matter' rally downtown". WISN-TV . Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  14. ↑ Behm, Don (December 23, 2014). "Aldermen call for body cameras for all city officers". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  15. ↑ Garza, Jesse (October 15, 2015). "Commission approves Milwaukee police body camera policy". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Milwaukee police to update commission on body cameras: Officers have been using cameras since October". WISN-TV . February 18, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  17. ↑ Ehlke, Gretchen (August 14, 2016). "Volunteers clean up after violence on Milwaukee's north side". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  18. ↑ Holloway, Mike (April 30, 2018). "'The Blood is at the Door Step' is a heart-wrenching look at police violence and mental illness". Wisconsin Gazette. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.