Will he get his job back? Appeal hearing for Christopher Manney starts Thursday

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission will begin hearing the case to decide whether Christopher Manney should get his job back Thursday, March 19th. Manney is the former Milwaukee police officer who shot and killed Dontre Hamilton in Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee last April.

On April 30th, 2014, Hamilton was sleeping in Red Arrow Park. Then-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. Manney was terminated from the Milwaukee Police Department for his handling of Hamilton that day.

Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn fired Manney in October 2014, saying Manney treated Hamilton like a criminal when he decided to pat him down. It was that pat down that cost Manney his job.

"There`s a set of training and enforcements that you are taught and you don`t go hands on and start frisking somebody only because they appear to be mentally ill," Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said in announcing Manney's firing from MPD.

On December 22nd, 2014, the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office announced Manney's "use of force" in the shooting death of 31-year-old Dontre Hamilton was "justified self-defense and that defense cannot be reasonably overcome to establish a basis to charge Officer Manney with a crime."

Manney is appealing his termination from MPD, which brings us to Thursday's hearing.

The hearing will take place at Milwaukee's Municipal Court building on North James Lovell Street. There is a lot of interest in the hearing -- and limited seating.

Family members and supporters of Dontre Hamilton have been demonstrating since the shooting. They hoped Christopher Manney would be criminally charged, and now, they hope the FPC will uphold Manney's termination.

"I'm going to stand by my decision and will testify to that extent," Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said.

Thursday's hearing will be the first time Dontre Hamilton's family members will see Christopher Manney in person.

"One of the brothers is very concerned about (the appeal hearing), hoping he can keep himself under control, knowing that the killer of his brother is going to be that close. They are quite nervous, both in regards to seeing Christopher Manney in person for the first time, as well as what is going to happen. I will tell you they don't have much confidence in the system at this point," Hamilton's family's attorney Jonathan Safran said Tuesday.

"You get lost in the thoughts -- how I'll feel, what I wanted to say. It's hard, but I'll deal with it. I don't think he understands what he did to my family. We just want justice for our brother," Dontre Hamilton's brother Dameion Perkins said.

"Seeing him is not going to terrify me. It's not going to off-set me. When you break the rules, there's consequences," Dontre Hamilton's brother Nate Hamilton said.

A lot of logistics have been worked out in advance of the appeal hearing. On the first floor, there is a lobby where people can watch the proceedings on closed circuit television.

Retired Judge Michael Skwierawski will oversee proceedings. A panel of three Fire and Police Commissioners, who will ultimately make the decision, will sit below the judge. Facing the Fire and Police Commission, on one side of the courtroom, will be Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn and his lawyer. They will argue to keep Manney's termination in place. On the other side, Manney and his attorney will fight to overturn the firing. In the gallery, the first row on each side is reserved for the family of Dontre Hamilton and those supporting Christopher Manney.

The Fire and Police Commission has issued a list of rules for the hearing. Officials say no signs will be allowed in the courtroom -- and only 59 people will be allowed there.

Jonathan Safran says the hearings will focus on whether Manney violated police policy with his search of Hamilton. That will be phase one of the hearing. If the panel says "yes," the hearing will go to the next phase. Phase two will determine whether Manney's punishment (his termination from MPD) was appropriate.

The shooting itself is not expected to be addressed in the hearings. Unless there is a change, the Hamilton family will have no opportunity to speak.

In advance of the start of the hearing Thursday, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn says police will have to make sure the public's First Amendment rights are not violated, while keeping the public and the building safe.

"The things that are disturbing from a police point of view is the rapidity that people take to the streets with no information at all to this day. No one has the full facts of the shooting in Madison. That didn't deter people from taking to the streets and demanding the officer be tried for murder. That's absurd and we need to take a step back," Chief Flynn said.

Chief Flynn says he'll urge the Fire and Police Commission to uphold Manney's firing, as Manney sits at the next table asking for his job back.

In a statement from the Milwaukee Police Association Wednesday, President Michael Crivello says:

It's not clear how long the hearing will last. Courtroom time has been set aside for the hearing on Thursday and Friday evening as well as Saturday during the day.