Brother Of Dontre Hamilton Calls For Changes In Police Shooting Investigations

The brother of a man shot to death by Milwaukee police last spring is calling for changes in a new state law that requires independent investigations of all police-involved shootings.

Nathaniel Hamilton said state investigators ignored the new law by depending too much on Milwaukee police officers to determine what happened when his brother Dontre Hamilton was killed in Red Arrow Park last spring. Hamilton wants the new law changed to prevent local district attorneys from deciding whether such shootings are justified.

“Because it’s too close of a relationship — that’s number one. There should be some outside entity that represents the city in these cases,” said Hamilton.

The author of the new law, former state Rep. Garey Bies, is also criticizing the probe into Hamilton’s death. He’s urging legislators to create a statewide commission to oversee all investigations of deaths that occur in police custody.