The shooting of Dontre Hamilton by a Milwaukee police officer in Red Arrow Park brought together the issues of policing, violence, and communities here. The case resulted in the officer’s firing from the force, but he was not charged in the shooting. A fact that spurred numerous protests, and was even raised by Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in last month’s Democratic debate.
Reporter Justin George was not in Milwaukee at the time of that shooting, but he has a great deal of experience covering those issues. George covers criminal justice for the Baltimore Sun and followed the investigation into the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. He also contributed to the podcast, Serial, in its first season.
George is currently an O’Brien Fellow in Public Service Journalism at Marquette University's Diedrich College of Communication.
On Lake Effect, he connects the dots between cases he has covered in Baltimore and what's going on in Milwaukee. "What you're seeing are the same sort of issues that are cropping up everywhere and that is an issue of alienation, of segregation and obviously the issues that come with use of force," George says.
