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Families of Dontre Hamilton and Joel Acevedo join protest on final night of DNC
The Coalition to March on the DNC scheduled a We Can't Breathe rally and march on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee Thursday evening, Aug. 20, coming together in Red Arrow Park with the families of Dontre Hamilton and Joel Acevedo.
MILWAUKEE - The Coalition to March on the DNC scheduled a "We Can't Breathe" rally and march on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee Thursday evening, Aug. 20, coming together in Red Arrow Park with the families of Dontre Hamilton and Joel Acevedo.
Dontre Hamilton
On April 30, 2014, Dontre Hamilton was shot and killed by Milwaukee Police Officer Christoper Manney at Red Arrow Park April 30, 2014. No charges were brought, but Manney was fired from the force.
Joel Acevedo (L) and Michael Mattioli (R)
Acevedo died in April 2020 at the hospital after prosecutors said Milwaukee Police Officer Michael Mattioli placed him in a chokehold following a gathering at the off-duty officer's home. Mattioli alleged Acevedo tried stealing from him and punched another man in the home. Mattioli has been suspended from the force, facing a charge of first-degree reckless homicide.
Organizers said they want to continue the protest against police killings of Black people, and that even though Joe Biden wouldn't be delivering his acceptance speech in Milwaukee as planned, this is an opportunity to be heard.
“We are here to defeat Trump, tell Biden and other Democrats to stop cops from killing Black men and other people, and build our movement,” said Ryan Hamann, one of the co-chairs of the Coalition, said in a news release announcing the event.
According to organizers, the event was also expected to include the families of Alvin Cole of Milwaukee, Jonathan Tubby of Green Bay and Isaiah Tucker of Oshkosh. Cole was shot and killed in February by Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah, who has been suspended by the Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission, with the Milwaukee County district attorney reviewing the shooting. Mensah has been cleared in two other fatal shootings in the last five years.
"The hope is that through the platform provided by the protest on August 20, these cases will earn the national coverage that they deserve," organizers said in the release.
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