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Documentary examines the Dontre Hamilton shooting

Hamilton was killed in 2014
Posted at 6:34 PM, Mar 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-24 19:35:46-04

MILWAUKEE - It is never easy sharing your pain but for the mother and brothers of Dontre Hamilton, the young man killed in an altercation with police, seeing their pain on the big screen has been therapeutic.

" A part of me died with Dontre. Had to find life again." Maria Hamilton said.

"I just hope people can understand Dontre was a person who didn't deserve to die - shot 14 times." said Nate Hamilton.

Local filmmaker Eric Ljung was moved to film the Dontre Hamilton's fight for justice and turn it into a full length documentary titled "The Blood is at the Doorstep."

"I think people don't understand this is a very american typical family they are not super hero activist they were thrown into this situation."  Ljung said.

On April 30, 2014  Dontre was sleeping in Red Arrow park when a Milwaukee police officer arrived. The encounter lead to a struggle and Dontre was shot and killed.

"Mental illness did not kill Dontre,” Nate said.

Ljung captures the community's outrage, the family's frustration, the state's investigation which led to the ultimate firing of officer Christopher Manney in this hour and half feature film.

"As much as you will see in the film there is 498 other hours you won't see," Ljung said.

The film recently debuted at the South by Southwest film festival with rave reviews from critics like the Hollywood Reporter.

"It’s a huge platform, it’s one of the top film festivals in the country so to have the opportunity to get our story out to a broader audience," Ljung said.

Both Ljung and the Hamiltons want viewers to walk away with one message.

"The message real family with real emotions and we fought a fight for someone that we loved. " said Dameion Perkins.

 

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