Hyatt hotel operator fires security guard who detained Milwaukee man
Attorney Ben Crump speaks about the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell in Milwaukee
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump speaks with attorney Will Sulton, attorney B’ivory Lamarr, local activists and Mitchell’s family members outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Monday afternoon about the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell.
Hotel operator Hyatt operates the downtown Milwaukee hotel where D’Vontaye Mitchell died after security guards held him facedown near the hotel entrance. Several employees have been fired.
Aimbridge Hospitality, the hotel’s operator, announced the decision in a statement late Wednesday evening.
“The conduct of several employees on June 30 violated our policies and procedures and does not reflect our values as a company or the behavior we expect from our employees. After reviewing their actions, their employment has been terminated. We will continue our independent investigation and do everything we can to assist law enforcement in their investigation of this tragic incident.”
The move came hours after Hyatt called for the firing and criminal prosecution of hotel employees involved in Mitchell’s death. The hotel giant made the statement Wednesday afternoon, 10 days after Mitchell died outside the Kilbourn Avenue hotel.
“Hyatt joins the family of D’Vontaye Mitchell in their calls for transparency, accountability and justice for this senseless tragedy,” Hyatt’s statement said. “We believe the Aimbridge Hospitality employees involved should be fired and charged.”
Earlier Wednesday, the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office said it was investigating Mitchell’s death as a homicide. The prosecutor is still waiting for a final autopsy from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office before making its decision.
Mitchell’s family, supporters and lawyers held a demonstration outside a police and court building. The family criticized the lack of transparency and justice and pointed out that no charges have been filed against the worker.
At the protest, lawyers said they had spoken to a hotel employee who claimed security staff used excessive force and said he was willing to testify if legal action was taken.
The final results of the autopsy would serve as the basis for the ongoing police investigation and allow prosecutors to “fully evaluate the actions that led to Mr. Mitchell’s death from the perspective of possible criminal liability,” the statement said.
“All aspects of these actions, including the death of Mr Mitchell and the use of violence by hotel staff, are being closely investigated,” the statement said.
At a separate press conference on Wednesday, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said he wanted to “set the record straight” in response to Mitchell’s death.
“If it’s not being investigated criminally, why is the district attorney investigating it? So we need to make sure we get the facts straight about what’s going on in our community and who’s talking about it,” he said. “This is still in the medical examiner’s office. It’s still being investigated for an autopsy to understand exactly what happened.”
At the press conference with the police chief, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he spoke with the Mitchell family on Tuesday and called the death a “tragedy.” He said the city’s Department of Public Health and Safety has also been in contact with the family.
“It’s a family member who is no longer with them, and that’s a tragedy no matter how it happens,” Johnson said.
Mitchell, 43, died around 4 p.m. on June 30 after allegedly entering the ladies’ room at the Milwaukee hotel (333 W. Kilbourn Ave.). Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing Mitchell’s family, said Mitchell was having a mental health crisis, but Milwaukee police have not released any information about that.
In an initial press release, police said he was detained by security forces after a disturbance and subsequent fight broke out while he was being escorted out.
Mitchell’s family reacts to video of his death
Mitchell was repeatedly beaten with an extendable baton by a security guard in the final minutes of his life because bystanders did not intervene, his family’s lawyers told prosecutors on Wednesday.
Members of Mitchell’s family, who are currently planning his funeral, told reporters they were “repulsed and shocked” by the video footage they saw along with Crump and Milwaukee attorneys B’Ivory Lamarr and William Sulton.
The footage was provided by Hyatt and shows Mitchell running away from something or someone and seeking shelter in the hotel’s ladies’ restroom, the lawyers said.
“D’Vontaye was trying to run for his life,” Sulton said. It was not clear what Mitchell was running from, the legal team said.
When confronted by guards, he had his hands raised, but was dragged to the ground and beaten while begging for the beating to stop, lawyers said.
They joined dozens of supporters, many wearing T-shirts with Mitchell’s face, marching from the district attorney’s office to the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee.
“Seeing them hit him over and over again … they could have stopped at any time,” Mitchell’s wife, DeAsia Harmon, said, her voice choked with tears. “They murdered him. They didn’t have to do that to him.”
Crump compared Mitchell’s death to that of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and other black men and women who died in fatal encounters with police or authority figures.
Brenda Giles described her son as a harmless teddy bear and “a joy to his family”. She said she was “devastated” when she watched the videos on the eve of his funeral and pleaded with prosecutors to bring charges over Mitchell’s death.
“I always thought my son would bury me, not me him,” Giles said. “We will not allow this to be swept under the rug.”
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