Four hotel employees were charged with murder last week in the death of D’vontaye Mitchell after restraining and holding him down outside of a Hyatt, where he suffocated on June 30.
The autopsy report revealed that Mitchell “died from a combination of ‘restraint asphyxia and toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine’ as he was held down by hotel workers in a prone position…The report also noted that Mr. Mitchell was obese and had hypertensive cardiovascular disease,” The New York Times reported.
The Milwaukee County medical examiner ruled the 43-year-old’s death a homicide.
Hotel security manager Todd Alan Erickson, security guard Brandon Ladaniel Turner, front desk worker Devin W. Johnson-Carson and bellhop Herbert T. Williamson were charged with felony murder, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years and nine months. All four have since been fired from their positions.
According to police records, Mitchell frantically entered the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee that afternoon and “caused a disturbance.”
He “then ran into the lobby’s gift shop before darting out of the shop and down the hallway into the women’s restroom.”
Purportedly, Mitchell “fought with security guards as they were escorting” him outside where he was detained until the arrival of the police.
According to the criminal complaint, by the time officers arrived on the scene at approximately 4:30 p.m., Mitchell was not breathing and was lying face down on the driveway. The video shows Mitchell being subdued for a period of eight to nine minutes. “Towards the end of that time period, DM [D’Vontaye Mitchell] has stopped showing movement or resistance or other signs of life.”
The confrontation was captured on video, sparking public outrage and protests during the Republican National Convention over the deaths of Mitchell and Sam Sharpe Jr., who was killed by Ohio police officers.
Renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, is one of the lawyers representing the Mitchell family called this was a “significant step.” He said, “The evidence, including security footage and witness statements, paints a disturbing picture of a man in distress who was met with excessive and lethal force.”
According to Mitchell’s family, he was in the middle of a mental health crisis, which attributed to his actions that day.
In a statement, William Sulton, an attorney representing the family said, “While we agree that the employees should be charged with murder, we are mindful of the fact that this would not have happened without Mr. Mitchell’s family’s hiring lawyers to investigate the murder…The family should not have had to wait 37 days for charges when the murder was captured on video.”
