© 2024 Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Analyst: Media Overhyped Reaction to Hamilton Decision

Dave Edwards
/
WUWM

The decision Monday not to charge a former Milwaukee police officer in the death of Dontre Hamilton set off a new round of protests, but also hours of local media coverage.  One analyst says he believes it went overboard.

Eric Von is also a former Milwaukee morning radio host and founder of the men's health website Brain Brawn & Body.

Von was critical of the news coverage surrounding the decision.  "I thought that it was a lot of hype for not a lot of purpose," he says.

Von also noted contemporaneous reports that "there were news people lined up in Red Arrow Park very, very early in the morning, before probably the protesters were up, essentially inviting them to come on down, we'll tell your story."

Von says he believes credit was due to Dontre Hamilton's family, members of the Milwaukee community at-large, and even the police department for their actions in this situation.  Looking forward, though, he said he's hopeful that "the next steps are just as they [the protesters] had planned, and that is to continue to pressure the local government, the federal government, for what they believe to be a just end to this situation."