Officer who fatally shot Dontre Hamilton fired from the Milwaukee Police Department

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn has announced the firing of Officer Christopher Manney for his handling of Dontre Hamilton when the two met in Red Arrow Park on April 30th. 31-year-old Hamilton was shot and killed during a struggle that occurred with Manney.

Chief Flynn said Wednesday, October 15th he signed an order, terminating Officer Manney from the Milwaukee Police Department -- but Chief Flynn says his reason for firing Manney wasn't his deadly use of force, but rather, the events leading up to it.

Chief Flynn said he has reviewed every aspect of this incident, and has found that Manney violated the values of the Milwaukee Police Department in his handling of Dontre Hamilton.

Chief Flynn said Officer Manney showed no malice in his actions on that April day, but he says Manney made errors in judgement.

Chief Flynn said he has determined that Manney's shooting of Dontre Hamilton was a necessary use of force. However, he says when Manney arrived at the scene he should have immediately assessed Hamilton as an "emotionally disturbed person" and treated him as such.

"Christopher Manney treated Hamilton as though he were a dangerous criminal, instead of following his training. If the outcome had been benign, we would be looking at a training issue, but the outcome matters," Chief Flynn said.

Chief Flynn says Manney should not have proceeded to pat down Hamilton -- saying that pat down escalated the situation.

"This was not a call of a mentally ill man waving a gun. This was not a call of a mentally ill man threatening to kill other people. This was a check welfare call. There's a set of training and approaches that you are taught, and you don't go hands on and start frisking somebody only because they appear to be mentally ill," Chief Flynn said when he addressed the media on Wednesday afternoon.

Following that pat down, a confrontation ensued in which Hamilton grabbed Manney's baton and started to hit him with it. That's when Hamilton was fatally shot.

"There was no malice in his decision. He did not act outside of policy using the force he used. Bad tactics and bad decisions resulted in this escalation that necessitated a use of deadly force," Chief Flynn said.

A statement released by Chief Flynn Wednesday discusses the events of April 30th, after Officer Manney responded to Red Arrow Park:

The president of the Milwaukee Police Association, Mike Crivello, released the following statement on the matter:

Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan issued the following statement on this latest development:

For the last several months, family and supporters of the Hamilton family have protested the lack of a decision on charging in this case. The protestors also wanted the name of the officer who shot Hamilton to be made public — and the injuries the officer is said to have suffered that day to be detailed.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office will make the final decision as to whether any criminal charges will be filed in Dontre Hamilton’s death.

When asked about possible criminal charges Wednesday, Chief Flynn said he found the deadly use of force to be justified, but he stopped short of saying exactly what he thinks the District Attorney should decide.

The state's Department of Criminal Investigation has completed its investigation into this incident -- and has handed its findings over to the District Attorney's Office. Subsequently, the District Attorney's Office ordered a second independent investigation be conducted in the case.

Officials with the District Attorney’s Office tell FOX6 News the FBI is reviewing the specific question of the use of force. We’re told a national use of force expert is also reviewing the use of force in this case. The D.A.’s Office says a local police agency has already reviewed the use of force in this case. Which agency that is, hasn’t been made clear.

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