D’Vontaye Mitchell: Man who died after being held down by hotel staff was a ‘wonderful person’ and ‘wonderful father’

CNN
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DeAsia Harmon’s husband was a “wonderful person” and a “wonderful father,” she told CNN’s Victor Blackwell in an interview Saturday morning.

He was “funny and full of energy” and loved his children dearly, Harmon said.

But her husband, D’Vontaye Mitchell, will never see his children again: The 43-year-old died on June 30 after being detained by hotel security guards outside a Hyatt Regency hotel in Milwaukee. The incident was partially captured on video.

“I’m angry about it,” Harmon said of her husband’s death. “I’m devastated, empty, honestly.”

Police have forwarded four murder charges to prosecutors in connection with Mitchell’s death, Milwaukee police told CNN on Friday. A murder investigation is ongoing and full results of Mitchell’s autopsy are pending.

William F. Sulton, an attorney for the Mitchell family, told CNN he was confident the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office would “make the right decision” and charge the hotel employees involved.

“I believe there will be charges in this case,” Sulton said, adding, “I want to be very clear that this is about more than just four people.”

“Mr Mitchell was struck with a broom by a receptionist who you see on camera,” he said. “You see a third security guard who could have intervened and prevented this.”

“There were so many opportunities and on every occasion he was attacked by Hyatt employees,” Sulton said.

Sulton said that while Wisconsin has a citizen’s arrest law, it requires observation of a crime in progress. “Mr. Mitchell committed no crime at all. And in fact, we know that Mr. Mitchell was running from a security guard who attacked him and that he was retreating the entire time,” the attorney said. “And although Mr. Mitchell attempted to retreat, which included leaving the hotel after seeking refuge there, he was repeatedly struck until he was killed.”

Sulton said he met with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office for several hours on Wednesday and two hours on Thursday morning to discuss the case.

Aimbridge Hospitality, which operates the downtown hotel, has said it has suspended and fired the “hotel employees” involved in the incident. It is unclear how many employees were fired and whether the security guards who detained Mitchell are among them.

“The conduct of several employees on June 30 violated our policies and procedures and does not reflect our values ​​as an organization or the behavior we expect from our employees,” Aimbridge Hospitality said in a statement Thursday about Mitchell’s death.

The case has sparked criticism and accusations of racism, especially given the parallels between Mitchel’s death and other cases in which black men have died at the hands of police officers and other authority figures. May 25 marked the fourth anniversary of the killing of George Floyd by white police officer Derek Chauvin, which sparked nationwide protests.

Many of the circumstances surrounding Mitchell’s death remain unclear, including the cause of his encounter with security, how long it took officers to arrive at the scene and what Mitchell was doing at the hotel.

According to civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who also represents the Mitchell family, police claim Mitchell “caused a public disturbance,” after which security guards escorted him out of the hotel.

Security guards and others then pinned Mitchell to the ground. Part of a video posted on social media shows Mitchell grunting and pleading with the guards, repeatedly saying “please” and “I’m sorry.”

As the video shows, one security guard, who appears to be white, can be heard saying “stay down” and “stop fighting” while the others, who appear to be people of color, hold Mitchell down. The same security guard shouts to witnesses, “This is what happens when you go to the ladies’ room.”

Prosecutors are awaiting the full results of Mitchell’s autopsy, which will serve as the basis for the police investigation into his death and allow prosecutors to evaluate the events leading up to his death “from the perspective of potential criminal liability,” District Attorney John Chisholm said in a statement Wednesday.

Crump said in a statement posted on X last week: “It is deeply disturbing that we have lost another Black man in an altercation with security forces. This raises serious concerns about the use of force, lack of accountability and lack of consideration for mental health.”