Current:Home > MarketsMilwaukee hotel employees fired after death of Black man who was pinned to ground -Capitatum
Milwaukee hotel employees fired after death of Black man who was pinned to ground
View
Date:2025-04-16 07:45:12
Several employees involved in the death of a Black man who was pinned to the ground outside a Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee have been fired, the company that manages the hotel said.
Family members of D’Vontaye Mitchell and their lawyers reviewed hotel surveillance video provided Wednesday by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office and described seeing Mitchell being chased inside the hotel by security guards and then dragged outside where he was beaten.
“The conduct we saw from several associates on June 30 violated our policies and procedures, and does not reflect our values as an organization or the behaviors we expect from our associates,” a spokesperson for Aimbridge Hospitality said in an email. “Following review of their actions, their employment has been terminated. We will continue our independent investigation and do everything we can to support law enforcement with their investigation into this tragic incident.”
The spokesperson did not say how many employees had been fired or what their positions were.
Mitchell, 43, was held down on his stomach outside the hotel, media outlets have reported. Police have said he entered the hotel, caused a disturbance and fought with the guards as they were escorting him out.
The medical examiner’s office has said the preliminary cause of death was homicide, but the cause remains under investigation. No one has been criminally charged so far.
The district attorney’s office said Wednesday that it and police investigators were awaiting full autopsy results and that the case was being reviewed as a homicide.
Funeral services for Mitchell were scheduled for Thursday. The Rev. Al Sharpton is scheduled to deliver a eulogy. Sharpton is a longtime activist and leader who serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
It is unclear why Mitchell was at the hotel or what happened before the guards pinned him down.
DeAsia Harmon, Mitchell’s widow, described what she saw on the surveillance videos as “disgusting.” Harmon said video showed a bleeding Mitchell being dragged outside the hotel.
“It makes me sick to my stomach,” Harmon said during a news conference Wednesday. “He ran for his life. He was trying to leave. He said ‘I’ll go,’ and they didn’t let him go.”
Noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump is part of the legal team representing Mitchell’s family. Crump said Wednesday that they have a signed affidavit from a hotel employee who said a security guard was striking Mitchell with a baton and that Mitchell posed no threat when he was on the ground. The worker said a security guard ordered him and a bellman to help hold Mitchell down, Crump said.
Crump also represented the family of George Floyd, who was slain in May 2020 by a white police officer in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death spurred worldwide protests against racial violence and police brutality.
Mitchell’s death comes as Milwaukee is preparing for Monday’s start of the Republican National Convention and amid heightened security concerns around political protests.
veryGood! (8917)
Related
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Ellie Goulding and Husband Caspar Jopling Break Up After 4 Years of Marriage
- My 8-year-old daughter got her first sleepover invite. There's no way she's going.
- 2 killed in Mississippi National Guard helicopter crash
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- $454 million judgment against Trump is finalized, starting clock on appeal in civil fraud case
- Body of nursing student found on a University of Georgia campus; police questioning person of interest
- Audrii Cunningham died from 'homicidal violence with blunt head trauma,' records show
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- An Army helicopter crash in Alabama left 2 pilots with minor injuries
Ranking
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Stylish & Comfortable Spring Break Outfits From Amazon You'll Actually Want to Wear
- New Jersey beefs up its iconic Jersey Shore boardwalks with $100M in repair or rebuilding funds
- Death of beloved New York City owl, Flaco, in apparent building collision devastates legions of fans
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- RHOA's Porsha Williams and Simon Guobadia Break Up After 15 Months of Marriage
- A collection of the insights Warren Buffett offered in his annual letter Saturday
- Ellie Goulding and Husband Caspar Jopling Break Up After 4 Years of Marriage
Recommendation
Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
Give It Up For the Best SAG Award Red Carpet Fashion Moments of All Time
Two children die after hillside collapses near Shasta Dam in California, police say
Trump says his criminal indictments boosted his appeal to Black voters
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
Single-engine plane crash in southern Ohio kill 3, sheriff’s office says; FAA, NTSB investigating
Watch this missing cat come wandering home
Louisiana advances a bill expanding death penalty methods in an effort to resume executions