After the killing of a Wisconsin man who was held down outside a hotel by multiple security officers during a mental health emergency, leading civil rights attorney Ben Crump joined the family of the slain man in calling on authorities to deliver justice.
D’vontaye Mitchell, 43, was killed on 30 June during an encounter with security personnel at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Milwaukee, NBC News reported.
No one had been immediately charged in connection with the case. Police at first indicated that they were not even conducting a criminal investigation, though they later said they were investigating the case as a homicide after all, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The hotel is one of the three main venues for the Republican national convention, which is taking place in Milwaukee from 15 to 18 July.
“I know the national media is going to be coming and covering a lot of stuff related to the convention,” Crump said during Monday’s press conference about Mitchell’s killing. “A major part of the narrative needs to be justice and … justice in Milwaukee for D’Vontaye Mitchell.”
Video of Mitchell’s final moments showed four hotel security guards holding him down. Mitchell was experiencing a mental health crisis, according to Crump, and one of the guards appears to be kneeling on his body.
In the video, Mitchell is heard grunting and screaming for help. He was later pronounced dead by first responders who were summoned to the hotel.
The Milwaukee county medical examiner’s office has since determined that Mitchell’s preliminary manner of death was a homicide, the Journal Sentinel reported. The Milwaukee police department told the Journal Sentinel that they are not conducting a criminal investigation at this time.
In a statement, representatives of Hyatt said the hotel had suspended the employees involved in Mitchell’s killing while it conducted an internal investigation. The hotel later said it had fired the employees, according to multiple reports.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to Dvontaye Mitchell’s family, all those who knew and loved him, and the Milwaukee community in light of this tragedy,” the statement said. “Hotels franchised under Hyatt’s brands are required to comply with Hyatt’s mandatory safety and security standards and ensure that the hotel is a safe and secure environment for guests, colleagues and the public.
“As the investigation continues, Hyatt is fully committed to supporting efforts to help ensure accountability for the circumstances that led to the death of Dvontaye Mitchell.”
Lawyers representing Mitchell’s family said his death was reminiscent of the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on his neck for nine and a half minutes in 2020. Floyd’s murder – captured on video – ignited street protests worldwide.
On Monday, Crump and Mitchell’s family held a press conference outside the hotel, demanding that the killing not be “swept under the rug” with the convention set to bring thousands to Milwaukee, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“Everybody in America after George Floyd should have trained their employees and security personnel to not put knees on people’s backs and necks,” Crump said to demonstrators outside the hotel. “And when people are having problems breathing, don’t keep them in a prone position.”
Mitchell’s mother, Brenda Giles, said that she wants “justice” for her son and is asking hotel authorities to release video of the incident, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“I just want justice for my son, and I want it now,” Giles said. “Right now, not later.
“Give us those videos. Y’all know what went on inside the hotel. Y’all saw it, but we can’t see it. Make that make sense.”
