Dontre Hamilton
31-year-old Dontre Hamilton was beaten, shot and killed by police officer, Christopher Manney, in acts that prompted many protests in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this past weekend. Activists were also arrested for shutting down a major highway. Manney beat, then shot Hamilton 14 times, after receiving a call stating he was sleeping in a public park. However, two other officers had already checked on Hamilton twice and stated he was not engaging in any wrongdoing.
Many have deemed Hamilton's shooting death excessive force and correctly so. No one should be shot to death for sleeping in a public park. This is unreasonable and irrational. Hamilton has a documented history of mental illness, which led to him sleeping in the park. The Milwaukee Police Department stated in a formal review that Manney violated established rules in frisking a mentally ill individual, which agitated Hamilton. Manny has since been fired from the Milwaukee Police Department for deliberately ignoring orders that Hamilton was mentally ill and using the inappropriate course of action in approaching him.
Christopher Manney
The District Attorney, John Chisholm stated, "This was a tragic incident for the Hamilton family and for the community. But, based on all the evidence and analysis presented in this report, I come to the conclusion that Officer Manney's use of force in this incident was justified self-defense and that defense cannot be reasonably overcome to establish a basis to charge Officer Manney with a crime."
In response to the decision, the ACLU stated, "If Officer Christopher Manney did not violate the law, then is anyone legally responsible for Mr. Hamilton's death? Does the criminal law protect individuals like Mr. Hamilton from deadly force exercised by police officers? Are police officers above the law"
STORY SOURCE
No charges for Milwaukee officer who shot man 14 times
No charges for Milwaukee officer who shot man 14 times
A former Milwaukee police officer will not be charged with a crime for the shooting death of a 31-year-old man with a history of mental illness that has spurred protests, the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office announced Monday. The April 30 shooting of Dontre Hamilton in a downtown park by Officer Christopher Manney inspired a series of protests in Milwaukee, including one over the weekend that led to dozens of activists being arrested after shutting down I-43. Manney shot Hamilton 14 times during an incident that occurred after workers at a nearby Starbucks called police to complain about him sleeping in Milwaukee's Red Arrow Park...
