In 2014, community protests followed the fatal shooting of Dontre Hamilton, a mentally ill black man, in Milwaukee. The officer who shot and killed Hamilton was fired from the police force for not following protocol, but he was not criminally charged. In December 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would work with the Milwaukee Police Department on reforms. Milwaukee police previously attracted controversy for two incidents involving the deaths of black suspects while in police custody—one in 2010 and the other in 2011—as well as a scandal involving illegal strip searches and body cavity searches of 74 black people, for which a $5 million settlement was approved by the Milwaukee Common Council. Residents have criticized policing methods in predominantly black neighborhoods, which they say often involve a lack of respect towards suspects and use of force.
