Hours after Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm announced his decision to not file charges in the shooting death of a mentally ill black man by a white Milwaukee police officer, the U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of Wisconsin said there will be a federal review of the case.
The United States Department of Justice will undertake a federal review of this case to determine if, under federal civil rights law, there is a basis, both legal and factual, upon which a federal civil rights prosecution may be premised. This review will be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the Civil Rights Division.
Chisholm said Monday that ex-officer Christopher Manney acted in self-defense when he shot Dontre Hamilton, and that Manney’s defense “cannot be reasonably overcome to establish a basis to charge” him with a crime.
Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn fired Manney in October, for failure to follow department protocol during his fatal April 30 encounter with Hamilton at downtown Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park. The Hamilton family held a press conference, on the steps of Milwaukee’s federal courthouse, following Chisholm’s announcement Monday.