Four murder charges in connection with the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell referred to the prosecutor’s office
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.
Milwaukee police have forwarded four counts of first-degree murder to the district attorney in connection with the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell, a 43-year-old man who died after being held facedown on the ground outside the Hyatt Regency hotel, a police spokesman said Thursday.
Sergeant Efrain Cornejo told the Journal Sentinel that the department has been consulting with the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office since July 5, and that the district attorney’s office has filed charges. The district attorney’s office has not yet made a decision on the matter, he said.
The four people are not in custody and police are not currently looking for them, Cornejo said.
The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The office previously said it was investigating Mitchell’s death as a homicide.
In Wisconsin, a conviction for premeditated murder carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. A conviction for first-degree manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison. Anyone convicted of first-degree manslaughter faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Mitchell died outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 333 W. Kilbourn Ave., around 4 p.m. on June 30. Hotel security held him facedown with their knees on parts of his back before he died.
Mitchell’s death is reminiscent of the police killing of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died in a similar manner when police held him with their knees on his back.
Will Sulton, one of the Mitchell family’s lawyers, sharply criticized the police on Thursday for not contacting the family in a timely manner, for not filing criminal charges, and for not making any arrests.
“You must obey Marsy’s Law,” Sulton said.
Wisconsin voters approved the state’s version of Marsy’s Law in 2020 after it passed the state legislature twice. The victims’ rights law is named after Marsy Nicholas, who was murdered by an ex-boyfriend in California in 1983.
He confronted her family a week after her death, when the family was unaware that he had been released on bail. Her billionaire brother began advocating for expanded victims’ rights, which led to the national Marsy’s Law movement.
The 2020 amendment and other laws from 1993 and 1980 protect the right of victims of crime to privacy, but also to dignified treatment, for example when communicating with the police.
Opponents say it bogs down the legal system, arguing that the wording on the 2020 ballot was confusing to the average voter. The change was challenged in court, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the change in 2023.
“The (Mitchell) families are now victims of crime and that means they have rights,” Sulton said. “Those rights include the right to communicate. The police did not reach out to the family. They should have and must do so in the future.”
“They need to provide regular updates on the progress of their investigation and the current status of what’s going on, and I really don’t understand why the police department and Police Chief (Jeffrey) Norman are treating the family this way. We’re demanding more from the police department here.”
Sulton, who is part of a legal team that includes well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump, has met with prosecutors several times and reviewed evidence.
“(The police) concluded that this was not a criminal investigation. … It was bystanders and family members who gathered evidence, which led to meetings with the prosecutor’s office that brought us here now.
“And just to be clear, we have body camera footage of security officers at the Hyatt laying on camera saying, ‘I didn’t hit him. I didn’t see anybody hit him,’ even though that’s all on camera. You see them punching him, kicking him, hitting him with a broom and a baton. … It’s just completely outrageous.”
Sulton said it was “shocking” that police were not making any arrests despite the charges being brought. “I think the police’s conduct is really, really wrong and really, really appalling.”
Police said they would not comment further on Thursday.
On Wednesday, family, lawyers and supporters held a demonstration in front of a police and courthouse in downtown Milwaukee.
Attorneys said it showed Mitchell apparently running away from something and going into the ladies’ room.
“D’Vontaye was trying to run for his life,” Sulton said Wednesday. It was not clear what Mitchell was running from, the lawyers said.
When confronted by guards, he raised his hands, but was dragged to the ground and beaten, pleading for the beating to stop, lawyers said.
Members of Mitchell’s family told reporters they were “sickened and shocked” by the video footage.
An initial police press release said he was detained by security forces after a disturbance and subsequent struggle broke out as he was being escorted out. A family lawyer said Mitchell was going through a mental health crisis.
On Thursday, Mitchell’s family had already held a funeral for the 43-year-old. The well-known civil rights activist and pastor Al Sharpton gave the eulogy and hundreds attended the memorial service.
Aimbridge Hospitality, the operator of the Hyatt hotel, said the employees involved in the incident were fired on Wednesday evening. A Hyatt spokesperson had previously said that the company supported the firing of the employees and the charges against them.
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