By: Associated Press//March 18, 2015//
By: Associated Press//March 18, 2015//
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A police officer who was fired after fatally shooting a man in a downtown Milwaukee park will try to try to get his job back this week.
Christopher Manney was fired by Milwaukee’s police chief for failing to follow department rules when the officer encountered Dontre Hamilton, 31, in Red Arrow Park last April. Chief Edward Flynn said Manney treated Hamilton as a criminal and frisked him when there was no evidence of a crime.
Manney, who is white, shot Hamilton, who was black, on April 30 after responding to a call of a man sleeping in the park. According to Manney’s account, Hamilton grabbed the officer’s baton and attacked him with it, forcing him to open fire. He shot Hamilton 14 times.
Hamilton’s family has said he suffered from schizophrenia.
Manney’s discipline appeal will be heard by Milwaukee’s Fire and Police Commission beginning Thursday. Commissioners will decide whether to reverse, uphold or alter the discipline for Manney.
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm spent eight months reviewing the incident. Tension in the city mounted as the weeks dragged on, fueled by anger over police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York. Chisholm announced just before Christmas that he had concluded Manney acted in self-defense and the former officer wouldn’t face criminal charges.