Statement of Alderman Khalif J. Rainey May 21, 2021 By Ald. Khalif Rainey - May 21st, 2021 08:32 am
I am pleased by the action of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors yesterday as they approved a memorial bench and plaque to be placed in Red Arrow Park honoring the memory of
The Board approved $3,000 for a bench with a plaque about Dontre’s immense legacy in the city (and nationally) and the importance of mental health care.
In 2015 when I was a member of the Board, I pushed for the memorial and to rename the park after Dontre. Pressure from veterans’ groups quashed the renaming proposal, and in May 2016, a Dontre Hamilton Memorial Planning Task Force convened by the county Parks Department recommended the installation of a bench and memorial plaque in the park, where Dontre was shot and killed by a Milwaukee Police officer in 2014 (the officer was later fired).