The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday it wouldn’t pursue criminal civil rights charges against a white Milwaukee police officer who shot a mentally ill black man 14 times in a city park past year.
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Former Milwaukee police officer Christopher Manney was sacked after fatally shooting Dontre Hamilton on April 30, 2014. The Justice Department said the decision was made based on eyewitness accounts, physical evidence, Manney’s testimony and use-of-force experts. Prosecutors said they couldn’t prove that Manney willfully broke the law.
Andrea Irwin, the mother of Tony Robinson, called the decision not to file civil rights charges against a Milwaukee police officer who shot and killed Dontre Hamilton, “disappointing but not surprising”.
“We’ve been prepared to do more than protest”, said Nate Hamilton. “They don’t care about our families”, said Dolores Huerta of People for the American Way.
At a press conference this afternoon in Milwaukee, attorneys for the Hamilton family expressed dismay about the decision as well as the ongoing nature of the investigation: “We are all very disappointed by the decision and the length of time it’s taken the federal government to make this decision…This has been a long drawn out process – nearly every decision has given them no accountability”.
“How long can we march with maintaining respect for our city that does not respect us”, said Hamilton.
Federal authorities reviewed evidence collected in the death of Hamilton, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Hundreds of protesters – representing various issues including immigrant rights, civil rights and a living wage – turned out for the peaceful demonstration Tuesday evening in downtown Milwaukee.
“Is our marching and protesting not enough”, asked Hamilton.
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Manney was cleared of criminal charges at the county level, but was sacked after Police Chief Ed Flynn determined he had violated department policy with the pat-down. This decision is limited strictly to an application of the high legal standard required to prosecute the case under the federal civil rights statute; it does not reflect an assessment of any other aspect of the incident that led to Hamilton’s death.
