The police chief for Milwaukee, Wis. announced on Wednesday that he had fired an officer who recently shot and killed an unarmed man, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Police Chief Edward Flynn reportedly said officer Christopher Manney did not use excessive force, despite shooting the victim 14 times, but that he had violated department protocol for dealing with mentally disturbed people.
The chief said Manney had determined victim Dontre Hamilton was dangerous “based solely on observations of apparent mental illness, absent any overt actions on the part of Mr. Hamilton,” according to the newspaper.
Hamilton was killed on April 30. According to the paper, he had a history of paranoid schizophrenia but was unarmed at the time of the shooting.
Flynn said the officer had violated policy when he responded to calls about a homeless man sleeping in the park. He had come up behind the 31-year-old Hamilton and performed what Flynn called an “out of policy pat-down,” according to the Journal Sentinel.
“This intentional action, in violation of training and policy, instigated a physical confrontation that resulted in a deadly use of force,” Flynn said, according to the paper.
The chief also said the decision to fire the officer was “my decision alone.”
“We’re not talking war crimes here,” Flynn said. “We’re not talking that every cop that makes a mistake has to face grand juries and go to jail, but there has to be a consequence.”
Milwaukee County District Attorney has yet to make a decision about whether to press charges against Manney.
h/t Raw Story
I’m likely going to get flamed for this…but…yes, excessive force was not used in accordance to the way the regulations are written since cops are taught to empty their clip/gun of all bullets when taking down a dangerous suspect…
HOWEVER…
This guy should have his backside thrown in jail for killing a man who was not an immediate danger, had apparent mental illness, and could have been subdued other ways. It’s a very common problem with the police- if you’re Black or mentally ill- they shoot first and ask questions of your gravestone- if they bother to ask questions.
As difficult as it must have been for the Chief Flynn to have done the right thing-- he did.
He’ll likely catch flak for a long time for not circling the wagons in true blue fashion–
but he’ll have the support of his constituent community.
Circumstances and weaknesses make it hard to do the right thing sometimes.
This man of authority, the chief, made a hard choice.
But the correct one IMO.
jw1
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if I understand this story correctly, the cop came up behind the guy and, unannounced, started patting him down. How is the citizen supposed to know it’s not an assault under those circumstances?
If Allen West is any indication, this guy will next be seen running for Congress as a Republican.
SURPRISE PAT DOWN!
We sure he wasn’t just trying to grope a guy, and a little rasslin in the park didn’t get out of hand?