On Friday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents relating to the FBI’s investigation into the death of Dontre Hamilton, a 23-year-old black man shot and killed by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in May of 2017.
In September 2017, Hamilton was found unresponsive in the middle of the street in front of his mother’s house.
According to Hamilton’s mother, Dontrez, the police officer who killed her son shot him “multiple times” as he lay motionless.
Hamilton died from multiple gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
According the FBI, a search of the police station turned up evidence that the NYPD was aware of the killing, and that a homicide investigation was ongoing.
However, in the days following Hamilton’s death, the NYPD refused to release information about the investigation.
In an interview with The New York Times, D.A. Ray Kelly, the New Orleans Police Department’s chief, denied that there was any investigation into Hamilton’s killing, but did acknowledge that a police officer was charged with murder in the case.
“There was a criminal investigation going on, and we had a homicide case on the books, so we’re trying to figure out what the facts are,” Kelly said.
The FBI has said that Hamilton was killed because he was carrying a replica of an assault rifle.
The investigation, however, was never reopened, and the NYPD has not yet provided any information about any additional charges.
According on the request, the FBI also provided information on the circumstances surrounding the arrest of two individuals in connection with Hamilton’s murder, but neither has been released.
The New Orleans case is the first to come to light involving a murder that was committed while the suspect was on the loose.
According it to the New Haven Register, a federal grand jury in Connecticut indicted one of the suspects, 24-year old Michael Jackson, on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy.
In November of 2018, Jackson was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
In March of 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Jackson’s favor, allowing the prosecution to pursue the death penalty against the man who has been dubbed the “King of Pop.”
In March 2018, a man named Daniel Williams was charged in connection to the death.
Williams was found guilty in March 2018 on a felony charge of obstruction of justice, but was acquitted on all counts.
In October of 2018 two women, Susan Williams and Jessica Williams, were charged with the murder of 26-year, Austin Williams, a black man who was shot and injured during a traffic stop.
In December of 2018 Williams was sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted on two felony charges of obstruction and false imprisonment.
Williams is currently awaiting sentencing.
The police department has refused to provide details about the circumstances that led to Hamilton being shot and to release any additional information about what led to the investigation, including any information regarding the possible investigation of the death or any other criminal investigation.
If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for help.
You can also report online by visiting the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s National Domestic Abuse Hotline.