Video footage shows that D’Vontaye Mitchell, 43, was held on the ground by multiple security guards near the entrance of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Milwaukee; he was declared dead soon afterward. The area where police say the struggle took place in June is seen here in a Google Maps image from 2022.
Google Maps/Screenshot by NPR
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Google Maps/Screenshot by NPR
Nearly two months after D’Vontaye Mitchell, a 43-year-old Black man, died after being detained by security guards at a Hyatt Regency Hotel in Milwaukee, his family and attorneys announced that a settlement was reached with the hotel’s operator.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, along with attorneys B’Ivory Lamarr and Will Sulton, announced Monday in a joint statement that in the last few weeks, the attorneys held “good faith conversations” intending to achieve a resolution for Mitchell’s family.
“We are pleased to share that we have reached an amicable settlement,” the attorneys said, adding that all parties are “pleased that they were able to resolve this matter outside of court.”
The attorneys declined to disclose the settlement amount in their statement, as the terms remain confidential.
Aimbridge Hospitality, the Hyatt’s third-party operator, told NPR in a statement Tuesday that the settlement is a result of “good faith discussions” with Mitchell’s family.
The hospitality group said the settlement’s goal is to hopefully comfort Mitchell’s family as they continue to mourn his loss.
4 men are ordered to stand trial
The news of the family’s settlement comes as the four workers who were accused of killing Mitchell were ordered on Monday to stand trial on murder charges.
Todd Erickson and Brandon Turner, former Hyatt hotel security guards, along with Herbert Williamson and Devin Johnson-Carson, each face one count of being a party to felony murder, The Associated Press reported.
The four men could each face up to roughly 15 years in prison if convicted. They are expected to appear back in court Thursday, according to AP.
Mitchell died sometime after 3 p.m. on June 30, after a struggle began with security guards outside the entrance of the hotel, according to the Milwaukee Police Department.
A witness reported seeing three to four hotel workers “with their knees on Mitchell’s neck and back and one of them striking him in the head with an object,” attorney Ben Crump’s office previously said following the initial incident.
In video footage posted online, security guards appear to be using their bodies to push Mitchell against the pavement when he is face down.
The guards involved in the incident were initially suspended, but a Hyatt spokesperson told NPR on July 10 that they would be terminated and later face criminal charges.