Chair of Milwaukee's domestic violence commission resigns over Hamilton's appointment to OVP

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The chairman of Milwaukee's Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault resigned Tuesday, Aug. 16.

Jermaine Reed says his exit is in protest of Ashanti Hamilton's appointment to lead the city's Office of Violence Prevention.

In a statement Tuesday night, Reed said:

"Aside from Cavalier Johnson taking his biggest political foe and putting him in his pocket to control him, I resigned as a matter of principle. The mayor cannot exploit child abuse for his political gain. Alderman Hamilton should not be the head of the Office of Violence Prevention given his admission of abusing his 6 year old daughter. It sends the wrong message about child safety not being a priority in the Mayor's office."

Hamilton pled no contest to felony abuse of his 6-year-old daughter in 2009.

According to a police report, Hamilton's 6-year-old daughter alleged he beat her with a coat hanger until the hanger broke. She reportedly had visible signs of whips and cuts on her leg, including a bloody wound that was bandaged.

The judge dropped the charge one year later, after Hamilton had stayed out of trouble, completed community service and attended parenting classes.

"To put him over the Office of Violence Prevention, having a history, a confirmed history of being aggressive, violently aggressive toward your child, I don't think it was the best choice," Reed said. "I think the mayor needs to rethink this."

Mayor Cavalier Johnson is sticking by his decision.

"I don’t have any intention to change my appointment," Johnson said.

Johnson tells CBS 58 he made the decision to appoint Hamilton himself, because of the alderman's experience on the Milwaukee Common Council. 

"I think he'll do a great job providing, again, those metrics, providing the responsiveness that the office needs," Johnson said.

Hamilton addressed the former charge at a press conference on Monday.

"I think that this is a reality that I had to go through, a learning experience that I had to grow through, and I think we bring our life experiences to every position that we take," Hamilton said.

Hamilton did not immediately respond to CBS 58's request for an interview on Wednesday.