Family, community remember Dontre Hamilton 9 years after death
MILWAUKEE - It has been nine years since a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed Dontre Hamilton at Red Arrow Park.
After the usual "Dontre Day" was canceled last month due to weather, the push for change continued Saturday, May 27. The community joined Hamilton's family to honor his life in the place where he died.
"I come here and read. I come here to clean up. I come here to have conversations with people," said Maria Hamilton, Dontre's mother. "It’s overwhelming. Yesterday was really hard for me to even want to be in the community."
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Maria said every moment is a battle since the day her 31-year-old son was killed.
"His spirit is here. But, it’s a mark on this city," she said.
Dontre Hamilton's mother, Maria, ties a balloon to his memorial bench at Red Arrow Park
Family said Dontre had a history of mental illness and had been treated for schizophrenia. He was sleeping on a park bench on April 30, 2014 when a Starbucks employee called 911.
Officer Christopher Manney responded, woke Dontre up and wanted to pat him down. Police said he took Manney's nightstick and began hitting the officer. Manney then shot him 14 times.
"He was the glue that pretty much held us together," Maria said.
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Dontre's death led to police changes in Milwaukee, but his family and some community members still want more. His mother said she believes his spirit lives on.
"It has brought people together. It changed the leadership, it has people seeing things that we evaded, prior to Dontre dying," said Maria. "A lot of supporters in the city feel as though they know him. That’s because of how he left our hearts."
The city named April 30 "Dontre Day." Since 2018, people have come to Red Arrow Park to remember him. A memorial bench and plaque were unveiled there in his memory last year.
"Every day to us and this family is Dontre Day. We think about him every day, we love him every day," said Nate Hamilton, Dontre's brother.
Red Arrow Park, Milwaukee
Dontre's family continues to advocate for mental health funding and more accountability in policing.
"You have to want to be a voice, because change ain’t going to happen if it’s just my voice or your voice," said Maria.
MPD later fired Manney. County and federal prosecutors never charged him.
Since Dontre's death, Milwaukee officers now go through crisis intervention training and wear bodycams.