Police in Milwaukee Pin Down a Black Man and Then Kill Him, Drawing Comparisons to the Death of George Floyd
Four security guards in Milwaukee pinned a black man face down on the ground outside of a hotel and killed him. The lawyer for the man’s family said the act was “disturbing” and “like the killing of George Floyd.”
Mitchell, who is 43 years old, went to the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown on June 30.
Police in Milwaukee said someone came into the business, “caused a disturbance,” and “fought with security guards as they were escorting” him out. He was held by security until the cops arrived.
When help arrived, he wasn’t responding, and after trying to save his life, police said he was declared dead.
A witness took a shocking video of the fight, which showed Mitchell lying on the ground in front of the hotel with four security guards holding him down.
At least one of them looked like he was kneeling on his back, which is how Floyd was held by cops for more than eight minutes before he died in Minneapolis in May 2020. Five security guards held Mitchell’s legs and arms down and another one was seen at his head. He also looked like one of the guards hit him in the head several times with something.
Mitchell was heard grunting and yelling, “Please!” in a rough voice. Please help! Please! “Sorry!”
“Stay down!” yelled a guard. Don’t fight!”
When that guard saw the camera, he turned it toward the women and said, “This is what happens when you go into the ladies room!”
Officials haven’t said what kind of trouble Mitchell is accused of making, and it’s not clear what happened right before the video was taken.
Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer hired by the Mitchell family, said in a statement Wednesday that Mitchell’s mother, Brenda Giles, thinks her son was having a mental health episode.
The medical examiner for Milwaukee County said Mitchell’s primary cause of death was homicide. Homicide means death by another person’s hands, but it doesn’t always mean wrongdoing. That being said, the official results have not yet been found.
According to the police, the reason of death is being looked into, but the case is not being turned into a criminal case.
The office of the district attorney for Milwaukee County is also looking into how he died.
“The matter has been brought to our attention and is now waiting for further investigation.” “At this point, there is no schedule for deciding whether to charge,” the office said Monday.
In a statement released Wednesday, Crump said that the situation is “upsetting” and “reminds me of the killing of George Floyd,” as told by a witness.
He wanted a “open and thorough investigation” into what the security guards did.
“The battle for Dvontaye Mitchell’s justice has just begun, and we will not stop until those responsible are brought to justice,” Crump said.
On Monday, a Hyatt representative said that the workers who were involved in the incident have been fired.
“We’re working quickly with Aimbridge Hospitality, the hotel’s third-party operator, to find out what happened in full.” We’ve been told that Aimbridge Hospitality is looking into what happened very carefully and has suspended the workers who were involved.
A hotel spokesperson said, “We send our deepest condolences to all those who knew and loved Mr. Mitchell.” The spokesperson also said that the hotel is helping the cops.
Aimbridge Hospitality told Milwaukee’s NBC station WTMJ, “We send our deepest condolences to Mr. Mitchell’s family and loved ones.” We are still doing everything we can to help the police with their investigation into what happened, and we have nothing else to say at this time. We are still committed to making sure that all hotel guests and employees feel safe and welcome.
Mitchell’s mother, Giles, wants justice for her son.
“He was a wonderful dad, uncle, and nephew. He loved his family. He liked music a lot. He liked to cook a lot. “He loved being by the water,” she told the Rev. Al Sharpton on Sunday’s “Politics Nation” on MSNBC.
“They killed my child,” she told WTMJ. They need to see this to know that we want justice to be done. That’s what makes me mad about the security guards. No one has been charged with this crime. They’re trying to hide this, but we’re not letting them.
She said that she was shocked by how bad Mitchell’s body was when she saw it.
“The side of his face looked like it had been hit.” It was hit hard, yes it was hit hard. “It was just swollen all over here,” she said.
Thursday is going to be a sad day.