Milwaukee Police Department
Former Milwaukee police officer Christopher Manney will not face charges for fatally shooting Dontre Hamilton, a black man, in April. District Attorney John Chisholm declined to press charges, despite calls from Hamilton’s family and other protesters. A lawyer for Hamilton’s family said Monday that he is seeking a federal investigation to determine whether Manney’s actions warrant federal charges. After workers at a Starbucks called police to complain that Hamilton was sleeping in a downtown park, Manney arrived and began patting Hamilton down, and Hamilton, who was schizophrenic, began to fight him. Manney proceeded to shoot him 14 times, and his family and several protesters have been calling for Manney’s arrest ever since. “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,” said Chisholm in announcing his decision not to indict Manney, who has been let go from the police force.