Hyatt Regency employee involved in D’Vontaye Mitchell incident speaks out

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Twelve days have passed since D’Vontaye Mitchell died outside the downtown Hyatt Regency after four hotel employees pinned him to the ground.

Milwaukee police said they have forwarded murder charges against four people to the district attorney’s office. The district attorney’s office said it could take weeks before making a decision on the charges.

Videos of the moments before Mitchell’s death have shocked not only Milwaukee, but the entire nation. The men holding Mitchell in this video are not all security guards.

Attorneys for the Mitchell family said they included an on-duty security guard, an off-duty security guard, a bellboy and a receptionist.

“I was forced to help and I felt like I would lose my job if I didn’t help,” one of those employees told us on Friday.

“I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. It’s very disturbing for me because I sat there and watched a man lose his life,” the employee continued.

We are not naming this former Hyatt Regency employee because no criminal charges have been filed against him.

“I was upstairs helping a customer with his luggage to his room. I went downstairs and it was already a heated wrestling match,” the employee said. “When they took him outside, management asked me for help and all I did was approach Mr. Mitchell when they had him on the floor and all I did was hold him down.”

“I didn’t hit him, I didn’t slap him, I didn’t throw punches, I didn’t do anything other than hold him down,” the employee explained.

“Did you see any of the other employees throwing punches or hitting or anything like that?” asked reporter Jenna Rae.

“Yes, yes, yes, I did, yes, I did,” he replied.

“What did you see of them?” asked Rae.

“I saw security guard T*** hit him on the head several times with the baton,” the employee said.

TMJ4 excludes the name of the security guard because no charges have been filed against him either.

The employee told us that the woman seen in one of the witness videos was the manager who instructed him to detain Mitchell.

We were told she wasn’t the only one.

“Did T*** give you any instructions?” Rae asked the employee.

“Yes, T***, T***. I tried to get off Mr. Mitchell two or three times and T*** told me to jump back on him,” the employee said.

We also called the security guard. He told us to call his lawyer and hung up.

This incident happened almost two weeks ago and it is still unclear how it happened.

“I do not believe the Hyatt has released the video footage of the initial interaction,” said attorney William Sulton. “The video footage that we have and that we have seen clearly shows him running away from Mr. T***.”

Sulton and B’Ivory Lamar, representing Mitchell’s family, met with us Friday morning. They said they had only seen some surveillance footage of the incident at the Hyatt Regency.

“This man had broken ribs. That’s a beating. That’s it, and they beat him to death. That’s it,” Sulton added.

“It seemed like these individuals were working in unison. They were wearing some sort of uniform, were hardworking, and didn’t ask many questions about whether I should interfere or anything. It was business as usual,” Lamar repeated.

The employee we spoke to said he never expected something like this to happen at work.

“I would like to express my deepest apologies to his entire family,” the employee said.

We’re told the DA’s homicide unit has been investigating Mitchell’s death from the beginning.

The prosecutor is waiting for the results of the autopsy and said it will take several weeks before charges are filed.

TMJ4 will continue to monitor this story and update you as new information becomes available.

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