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Seven months after his death, Dontre Hamilton`s family`s attorney releases autopsy report
Seven months after his death, Dontre Hamilton`s family`s attorney releases autopsy report
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- New information has been released in the case of Dontre Hamilton, the 31-year-old man shot and killed by a Milwaukee police officer inside Red Arrow Park in Milwaukee in April. The attorney for Dontre Hamilton's family on Monday, December 1st released Dontre Hamilton's autopsy report, toxicology report and cause of death -- documents from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office that are now public for the first time.
Dontre Hamilton and Christopher Manney
Seven months after Dontre Hamilton was shot and killed by Christopher Manney, a former Milwaukee police officer terminated for his handling of Hamilton that day, the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office continues to investigate. That office will ultimately decide whether Manney should face criminal charges.
Dontre Hamilton's family received a copy of his autopsy report in July. On December 1st, it was released to the media.
On April 30th, 2014, Dontre Hamilton was sleeping in Red Arrow Park. Milwaukee Police Officer Christopher Manney was performing a welfare check, and police say Hamilton grabbed Manney's baton and struck him with it. That's when Christopher Manney opened fire, shooting Hamilton 14 times.
"The family has wanted to get (the autopsy report) out for some time. We've held off on doing that, hoping again that there would be a decision by the District Attorney. It's now been seven months. The family continues to hear mischaracterizations of the facts. (Dontre Hamilton)'s a person that is my size. He's 5'6" or 5'7" weighing 169 pounds. Not a large person. It does not jive with how Manney described Dontre," Hamilton family attorney Jonathan Safran said.
The autopsy report lists 21 gunshot wounds -- and that includes entry and exit wounds.
"The fact there is no stippling or gun residue on Dontre Hamilton's body would reflect that there was some distance. I'm not a forensic expert -- probably at least three feet or so at the minimum. The wounds show that at least half of them were in a downward direction, even though they were both supposedly standing. There's one that reflects it was shot into Dontre Hamilton's back," Safran said.
The autopsy report released by Dontre Hamilton's family through Safran says Hamilton died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. His death was ruled a homicide by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office. That ruling means Hamilton died at the hands of another.
The Hamilton family says they want the public to know Dontre Hamilton wasn't homeless. He had the following items on his person when he died: a wallet, a cell phone, a backpack, a blanket, candy and cash totaling $160.
His family says Hamilton was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia a couple years before he was shot and killed, but he didn't have a long history of mental health issues and no criminal record.
A toxicology report released with the autopsy report shows there were no drugs in Dontre Hamilton's system when he died.
Hamilton's family continues to wait for the District Attorney's Office to determine whether Hamilton's death merits criminal charges. The District Attorney's Office says they are aware of the autopsy report, and they have no comment at this time.
"We think there is sufficient evidence there should be state criminal charges," Safran said.
READ IT: Press release issued by Jonathan Safran, Dontre Hamilton's family's attorney
READ IT: Dontre Hamilton autopsy report, toxicology report, cause of death
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