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MILWAUKEE (AP) — A white Milwaukee police officer who was fired after he fatally shot a mentally ill black man in April won't face criminal charges.
That announcement came today from the top prosecutor in Milwaukee County. He says Christopher Manney won't be charged because he shot Dontre Hamilton in self-defense. He calls the death a "tragic incident for the Hamilton family and for the community."
Manney is at least the third white police officer not to be charged in the past month after a confrontation that led to the death of a black man.
The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin issued a statement saying the decision not to charge Manney left "a cloud of uncertainty" over the circumstances of Hamilton's death.
Hamilton's family said he suffered from schizophrenia and had recently stopped taking his medication.
Police Chief Edward Flynn fired Manney in October. He said at the time that Manney correctly identified Hamilton as mentally ill, but ignored his training and department policy and treated him as a criminal by frisking him.
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APPHOTO CER101: FILE - In this May 8, 2014 file photo, flowers and stuffed animals form a makeshift memorial in a Milwaukee park where a white Milwaukee police officer shot and killed a black man. Prosecutors said Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, that Christopher Manney won't face criminal charges because he shot Dontre Hamilton in self-defense. (AP Photo/Dinesh Ramde, File) (22 Dec 2014)
<<APPHOTO CER101 (12/22/14)££
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