Family, community remember Dontre Hamilton 10 years after death

Darronté Matthews
·2 min read

MILWAUKEE - Tuesday, April 30, marks ten years since a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed 31-year-old Dontre Hamilton.

The death of Dontre Hamilton did lead to a few changes within the Milwaukee police department.

But his family says that's not enough and ten years later they're going to keep pushing to make sure he's never forgotten.

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<div>The bench that honors Dontre Hamilton</div>
The bench that honors Dontre Hamilton

If there's one thing Maria Hamilton says she's grateful for, it's the support that's been drumming up over the past 10 years, since a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed her son, 31-year-old Dontre Hamilton.

"I got a community that loves me," said Maria Hamilton, Dontre's mother.

Hamilton says life has been a constant battle filled with therapy and prayer ever since.

"We’ll never be that family that we were in 2014 ever again; Dontre was the glue that held my family together." Hamilton added.

In 2014, Dontre was sleeping on a bench in Red Arrow Park, when a Starbucks employee called police.

The officer, Christopher Manney, woke him up and tried to pat him down.

Police say Dontre took Manney's night stick and started to hit him, until Manney grabbed his gun and shot Dontre 14 times.

His death led to the use of body cameras and crisis intervention training at MPD.

<div>Dontre Hamilton</div>
Dontre Hamilton

But Hamilton wants more transparency from police and more support for families.

"We are having a lot of crime in this city because the moms don’t get the therapy that they need," added Hamilton.

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On Saturday, April 27, loved ones gather again in Red Arrow Park for ‘Dontre Day.’

It brings together community organizations, leaders, and mothers who've also lost children to violence; mothers like Tracy Cole, whose son Alvin Cole was shot and killed by a Wauwatosa police officer in 2020.

"People don’t understand that you wake up in the middle of the night wishing your baby is there," said Tracy Cole, Alvin Cole's mother.

Hamilton says she hopes their message keeps beating louder and louder.

"We’re going to continue to fight. We’re going to continue to say their names," said Hamilton.

Prosecutors never charged Manney, but the Milwaukee Police Department did fire him.

Hamilton says she's going to keep pushing for more video from the night her son was killed.