A Black man died from suffocation and the effects of multiple drugs after being restrained by security guards outside a hotel in Milwaukee in June, and his death was ruled a homicide, the medical examiner announced Friday.
The "immediate cause of death" for D'Vontaye Mitchell, 43, was “restraint asphyxia and toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine,” according to a final report from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner. Other "significant conditions" contributing to the death include hypertensive cardiovascular disease and morbid obesity, the report said.
His final manner of death was ruled by the medical examiner to be homicide.
On June 30, four security guards pinned Mitchell face down on the ground outside the downtown Hyatt Regency hotel.
The medical examiner noted Mitchell was “restrained in prone position” by multiple individuals after using drugs.
Police said a person had entered the business, “caused a disturbance” and “fought with security guards as they were escorting” him out. Security detained him until police arrived.
When authorities arrived, he was unresponsive, and after lifesaving measures, he was pronounced dead, police said.
An investigation report from the medical examiner said Mitchell entered the hotel lobby and “appeared to be frantic and panting.”
Hotel staff and guests saw him hiding behind objects in the lobby, and was told to leave by hotel staff, the report said. Mitchell then ran into the women’s bathroom and tried to lock himself inside while women were in there, the report said.
The women inside the bathroom screamed and two security guards went inside and removed Mitchell, according to the report.
The report added that Mitchell was reportedly combative with security guards and tried to reach into their pockets. The security guards physically struggled with Mitchell and dragged him out of the hotel through the front entrance, the report said. Two other security guards assisted, the report said, because Mitchell was combative. The guards then “held him down on the concrete face down” until police arrived, according to the report.
A bystander recorded a video of the physical struggle between the security guards and Mitchell.
At least one security guard appeared to be kneeling on his back. Another security guard was seen at Mitchell’s head, and the others held his legs and arms down. One of the guards also appeared to hit him in the head with an object several times.
Mitchell was heard grunting, and shouted: “Please! Help! Please! I’m sorry!”
A guard yelled, “Stay down! Stop fighting!”
That guard realized they were being recorded and said, “This is what happens when you go into the ladies room!"
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who was retained by Mitchell’s family, last month compared Mitchell’s death to George Floyd's, a Black man who was restrained in a similar manner by police for more than eight minutes before he died in May 2020 in Minneapolis.
In a statement Friday, Crump said Mitchell's mother believed he was suffering from a mental health episode. He said the medical examiner's findings “demand immediate charges" against the security officers.
"Mitchell was in the midst of a mental health crisis ... the security officers and other Hyatt staff used excessive force that inflicted injury resulting in death. We will not rest until we achieve justice for Mitchell and his grieving family.”
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office has said it’s reviewing Mitchell’s death.
A spokesperson for Hyatt said in July that the employees involved in the incident had been suspended.