Maria Hamilton, mother of Dontre Hamilton, is handed flowers during a “Dontre Day” event at Red Arrow Park in 2016. (File photo by NNS)
By Edgar Mendez and PrincessSafiya Byers
This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Visit milwaukeenns.org.
Nearly 10 years after her son, Dontre Hamilton, was shot and killed by a Milwaukee Police Department officer, Maria Hamilton is still fighting for change.
“The system failed me and my family, and I still want justice,” she said. “It wasn’t about Dontre being mentally ill, it was about a system created to do exactly what it did.”
What it did, she said, is it failed to protect her son and hold people accountable for his death.
Dontre Hamilton, who was 31 and suffered from schizophrenia, was approached by officers while sleeping at Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee on April 30, 2014.
A confrontation ensued before he was shot 14 times and killed by officer Christopher Manney. Manney was fired for violating police department policy for patting down Dontre without cause but was never charged in his death.
Hamilton said she’s still upset that Manney was not prosecuted and disappointed that a new policy that mandates the release of police body cam footage within 48 hours is being held up in the courts. She said it’s another example of the police department lacking transparency.
“We need for [police] to start giving the community information, start recording data and come out and tell the people: ‘Hey, we’ve tackled this; we’ve changed this; we’re working on this,’” she said.
The Milwaukee Police Department did not immediately respond to interview requests on the subject.
Nate Hamilton, brother of Dontre Hamilton and chair of the Community Collaborative Commission, speaks during a “Dontre Day” event at Red Arrow Park in 2016. (File photo by NNS)
Other policies have improved since tragedy, family says
Still, Hamilton said, there have been some wins since her son’s death.
Officers who are assigned body cameras must wear them at all times on duty. Use-of-force policies have been updated, and crisis intervention training is mandatory for officers.
The city now deploys Crisis Assessment Response Teams, which pairs officers and clinicians, to mental health calls.
Nate Hamilton, Dontre Hamilton’s older brother, said he’s happy with those changes, adding the leadership transition at MPD from Alfonso Morales to current Chief Jeffrey Norman has also been positive.
“Where we are now is probably better than before Dontre died,” said Hamilton, who chairs the Community Collaborative Commission, or CCC.
The CCC has been working with the MPD to develop standards for community-oriented policing and to improve law enforcement practices.
“We want to create a different outlook on how police engage with the community,” he said.
‘There’s still some strain’
When asked if he felt that police and community relations have improved since his brother’s death, he said it depends on the situation.
“There’s still some strain,” he said. “I personally have had some positive police interactions over the past 10 years.”
Markasa Tucker-Harris, a community activist, started organizing by working with the Hamilton family in 2014. She said nothing has changed since Dontre Hamilton’s death because there has been no divestment from MPD.
“Policing as a system is violent; the roots historically and systemically are violent and continue to be,” said Tucker-Harris, executive director of the African American Roundtable, or AART. “People don’t need to be murdered to experience harm, which they are.”
Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Sequanna Taylor, who sponsored the effort to install a memorial bench and plaque in Hamilton’s memory at Red Arrow Park in 2022, said she believes policy changes have improved policing but have not created the level of change that people need.
“In some ways, it may be a smaller snail walk than some want to see,” Taylor said. “We would all like to see more.”
Turning tragedy into change
With the 10th anniversary of her son’s death on April 30, Maria Hamilton and her supporters want to use Dontre Day as a time to honor her son’s memory and to promote peace and unity in Milwaukee.
Each year, community members come together at Red Arrow Park to celebrate the life of Dontre Hamilton.
This year’s activities include a rescreening of “The Blood is at the Doorstep,” a documentary highlighting the Hamilton family’s fight for justice, at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave., at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 26.
A community event will be held at Red Arrow Park from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. The family also is hosting a fundraiser dinner from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 28 at Trendsetters, 6633 W. Mill Road.
Maria Hamilton said mothers from around the world who have also lost children to violence will be in Milwaukee this weekend to support each other.
She said her work with Mothers for Justice United, a group she founded to provide therapy and other support for women, “Dontre Day,” and other advocacy efforts are part of her healing process. But, most important, they support the change she wants to see.
“We have to keep fighting for policy change to be the city we know we can be instead of being known as the worst place to raise a Black child,” Hamilton said. “It’s a daily uphill battle but I’m in it for the long haul.”