Dontre Hamilton's Family
Last week, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm released a mountain of details about the fatal shooting of Dontre Hamilton by then-Milwaukee Police Officer Christopher Manney on the afternoon of April 30, 2014.
The details included a map of the scene, testimony from eyewitnesses, independent experts’ opinions on how Manney could have shot Hamilton, results from the state Crime Lab, a video demonstration on how quickly a gun could shoot 14 bullets, and the 911 call after the shooting—all evidence that Chisholm used to reach the decision that Manney didn’t break the law when he killed Hamilton. Since Manney, like all police officers, was taught to shoot to “stop a threat,” Manney’s decision to shoot Hamilton was justified and those 14 bullets weren’t excessive, Chisholm determined.
However, in that mountain of evidence, one perspective and voice is missing: that of Dontre Hamilton himself. We don’t know what he experienced in Red Arrow Park that afternoon and what, from his point of view, really happened during his brief, fatal encounter with Manney, who was fired by MPD Chief Edward Flynn for the way he approached Hamilton in Red Arrow Park.
Those are questions that his family wants answered, too. They don’t accept the official version of events or Chisholm’s decision. Not only are they moving forward with a legal challenge, but they’re sending out a call to action for our community to work together to ensure that our rights are protected when we’re dealing with law enforcement.
“We are a stand-up family,” Dontre’s brother, Dameion Perkins, told the Shepherd last Friday. “We didn’t ask to be put in this position. They forced us into this position. And we will continue to keep marching. We will continue to be strategic with our thinking. And we will keep standing up until justice is served for our brother and the brothers to others.”
Perkins, along with his mother, Maria Hamilton, and his brother, Nate Hamilton, spoke with the Shepherd about their private grief and public advocacy for a more accountable and truly just criminal justice system.
Who Was Dontre?
In the early news coverage of the shooting, Hamilton was described as being a mentally ill, homeless man who had a lengthy arrest record.
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That description wasn’t even remotely accurate, his family said. Dontre worked for a temporary agency and also as a roofer with his brother Nate. He had a car and a place to live. He had some traffic tickets but didn’t get into trouble with the law. He had $160 in his pocket when he was killed and no illegal drugs or alcohol in his system, according to the medical examiner’s report.
“Dontre was kind of like a shadow,” Nate said. “He always wanted to work and to make money to take care of himself and not only that, but his family too. He was a good saver—a better saver than me. He was a simple person. He didn’t ask for much and he didn’t need much.”
Maria said Dontre was quiet, but also a people person who was generous with his time and attention, especially with his family. Except, of course, when football was on. Dontre liked to watch every game and wouldn’t be in contact if it meant missing some of the action.
“Dontre was unique in his own way,” Maria said. “I didn’t have to worry about anything. I had an accident and he came back and stayed with me and cared for me until I was back on my feet. He used to make sure I went to my appointments and was constantly asking if I had my lunch made, because I worked 10- and 12-hour shifts. He was my companion in a lot of ways.”
Dameion said Dontre was quiet but knew how to bring out the best in people.
“To me, Dontre was the perfect lyric behind a great melody,” said Dameion, a musician. “He was our protector. He looked out for the family. He loved us.”
After Dontre was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2013, the family said he got treatment and was dealing with it and taking medication.
“We told him it was all right,” Nate said. “We didn’t allow it to be an issue. It didn’t change our feelings for him.”
“It was something he was living with,” Dameion said. “Dontre was Dontre.”
In April, the three brothers drove down to Indiana to their grandmother’s funeral. Although it was a sad occasion, “it was cool that the three of us got to hang out,” Dameion said.
Then, two weeks later, their world fell apart.
Investigation Doesn’t Answer Their Questions
Maria, Dameion and Nate said they were working on the afternoon of April 30 and didn’t pay attention to the news that day, so they didn’t know that Dontre had died until about midnight. That’s when MPD detectives contacted Maria and she called her sons, not knowing what the problem was. After peppering Maria with questions, the detectives finally told her that Dontre had been killed.
“That’s when all of the lies started,” Dameion said.
The Hamilton family doesn’t believe the official version of events as presented by the investigators and Chisholm’s report. They say that too many questions remain about what exactly happened and contend that not all of the information has been released to them or the public.
“There’s a thing called a coverup,” Dameion said. “That’s what they’re trying to do.”
They wonder why Manney contacted Dontre in the first place. According to the official investigation, Starbucks employees called to report on Dontre sleeping in Red Arrow Park at 1:52 p.m. on April 30. Shortly thereafter, two MPD officers stopped by the park, checked on Dontre, determined that he wasn’t doing anything wrong, and left. Starbucks employees called again just a few minutes later. The same MPD officers returned, told the barristas that Dontre had a right to be in the park, and left.
At about 3:30, according to the investigators, Manney retrieved the original voice mail about Dontre, called MPD dispatch to find out the status of the call, and went to Red Arrow Park despite being told that there was not an assignment there. “When told there was not [an assignment], he requested that he be recorded as responding to a trouble with subject at that location, resulting in the encounter with Hamilton,” Chisholm’s report states.
The Hamilton family claims that someone else also contacted Manney personally to complain about Dontre in the park.
The family also disputes the official explanation of Dontre’s encounter with Manney. According to the investigators, Manney told Dontre to get up, which he did, and Manney attempted to pat down Dontre. Manney testified that Dontre put his arms down at his sides to prevent Manney from frisking him, so Manney hit Dontre a few times in the head with his hands and beat his torso with his baton. Manney said Dontre grabbed his baton and hit him, which is why Manney drew his gun and shot Dontre 14 times.
Dontre’s family doesn’t think it happened like that. They don’t believe that Dontre hit Manney with the police baton. They pointed to a statement Manney made to 911 after the shooting, in which he said, “I may have been hit with a baton but I’m OK.” They want Manney’s medical records released and contend that photos they were shown in private indicated that there were no wounds on the officer. Photos of Manney weren’t released last week.
They added that Dontre’s DNA—not Manney’s—was found on the short end of the baton, where the handle is located. The state Crime Lab report offers no information about any DNA found on the long end of the baton.
“We’re thinking that if Dontre had hit Christopher Manney, his DNA would be on it,” Nate said.
They wonder why, if Manney could be fired by MPD Chief Ed Flynn for not following MPD’s policies when approaching Dontre, he doesn’t have to face criminal charges for killing him.
“In my mind, if you instigate a situation, if you do an illegal pat-down, you have to be held accountable for the whole thing,” Dameion said. “You caused this to happen because it could have gone a different way.”
Dameion said the family will continue pushing for answers until they are resolved.
“My personal feeling is that they thought he was homeless and that he didn’t have any family and that nobody cared,” Dameion said. “They thought that we weren’t going to be a family that would stand up for our brother.”
Dontre’s family, of course, is standing up for him, despite the eight-month wait for Chisholm’s report. U.S. Attorney James Santelle will look into the case, but the family also wants him to undertake a thorough review of MPD’s policies and practices to find any areas of injustice. On Saturday, they rallied with Rev. Jesse Jackson at the Rainbow PUSH headquarters in Chicago to renew their calls for a federal investigation.
They’ve also formed the Coalition for Justice, which sponsors rallies to raise awareness of Dontre’s shooting and the big-picture issues his death illuminates. They want a complete reform of the system so that individuals aren’t at the mercy of cops who can legally get away with anything—including killing unarmed, nonviolent individuals on public property in broad daylight.
“I can’t let this city continue to suffer from injustice,” Nate said. “I can’t continue to allow coverups to happen. I can’t continue to allow the district attorney to not view all of the information in a case. We need a better system. We need better people in control.”
They want the community, specifically the MPD, to become more sensitive to the way that they deal with homeless people and those with mental health issues. They said that not having adequate training has been an excuse for officers who don’t know how to handle residents in crisis.
“We have to make sure they have the tools so that they can be held accountable when they don’t follow their training,” Nate said. “Right now, there’s no accountability for officers.”
There has to be a better balance between the rights of cops and the ability of individuals to defend themselves nonviolently, they added.
“There should be some sort of law that protects individuals, such as Dontre, so that they can defend themselves when their civil rights are violated,” Nate said. “What rights do we have to protect ourselves? Are we just supposed to lie down and take the beating? When are we able to stand up for ourselves against officers or vigilantes that attack our rights?”
They said the rallies and marches have been a way to force city leaders to deal with Dontre’s death, as well as other in-custody deaths locally and elsewhere. They said more rallies and marches will happen until their issues are addressed, and they say that they’ll always remain peaceful, because Dontre himself was nonviolent.
Nate’s taken on the most visible role at the rallies and said he prays and meditates before he speaks so that he isn’t angry and only focuses on the positive.
“They just put us in a lifetime of being uncomfortable,” Nate said. “So this city will be in a lifetime of being uncomfortable until we get justice. We will march. We will occupy. We will make sure they change things. If not, then we as a people have to stand up and say no more. We can’t continue to allow this to happen.”
They said the coalition will set up an account to take in donations. Since becoming public figures, Dontre’s family would like to help families who’ve been affected by police violence as well as their supporters who are reaching out to them for food and clothing and other essentials they lack. They want to turn their attention to Milwaukee’s central city neighborhoods, where residents want to build safer communities.
“This started with Dontre, but it’s really about the people,” Nate said.
