The Milwaukee protests led by supporters of Dontre Hamilton’s family might continue this week at a time when many in law enforcement are more on edge after the killing of two police officers in New York and the afterman of last Friday’s freeway protests in the city’s downtown.
The protesters are seeking criminal charges against a now-fired white Milwaukee police officer who shot and killed Hamitlon, a 31-year-old, mentally ill, black man, at a Milwaukee park in April. They’ve held a series of protests and marches in recent months, including blocking a portion of Interstate 43 on Friday, which resulted in 74 arrests.
Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn released a statement on Sunday night that said, “Urban policing is a tough and dangerous job made more so by the toxic, overheated political rhetoric of some over the past few months …. that has sought to demonize policing everywhere.”
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The police chief’s remarks came after police say a man seeking revenge for two officer-involved killings of African-American men in New York and Ferguson, Mo., shot and killed two officers in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Wisconsin National Guard has been put on alert in case it’s needed to respond to any actions of the protesters. Gov. Scott Walker approved getting the Guard ready after a request from Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who on Saturday blasted the actions of those Hamilton supporters who disrupted traffic on Interstate 43.
“It is a campaign of menace and we saw it on display last night in the Marquette interchange,” Clarke said.
Some of the Milwaukee protesters said they believe Clarke is the one using overheated political rhetoric. Protest leader Nathaniel Hamilton, Dontre’s brother, compared the amount of time since Dontre was killed to the period some traffic was disrupted Friday night.
“I’m sorry that we caused you a small inconvenience in your life,” he said. “I think it’s about 32 minutes at tops before things got back to normal. But, you do the division, take 32 minutes into eight months, and you see how that look. And it’s nothing compared to what we went through.”
A decision by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm on whether to criminally charge former Police Officer Christopher Manney in connection with Hamilton’s death could come soon.
Many of the Hamilton supporters are part of the group, the Coalition for Justice. The group met Saturday night and said the ACLU is interested in seeing photos or video of Friday night’s arrests.
The group also referred to the killings of the New York police officers and said it doesn’t condone senseless acts of violence against anyone.
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