Milwaukee police referred four charges of felony murder in the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell, a 43-year-old man who died after being held face down on the ground outside of the Hyatt Regency hotel, to the district attorney, a police spokesperson said Thursday.
Sgt. Efrain Cornejo told the Journal Sentinel the department has been in consultation with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office since July 5 and that they subsequently referred the charges. The District Attorney’s Office has not made a decision on that, he said.
The four people are not in custody and police are not seeking them at this time, Cornejo said.
The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The office previously said it was reviewing Mitchell’s death as a homicide case.
In Wisconsin, a conviction for felony murder carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. By contrast, a conviction for first-degree reckless homicide is punishable by up 60 years. Anyone convicted of first-degree intentional homicide faces a mandatory life imprisonment.
Mitchell died on June 30 outside of the Hyatt Regency hotel, 333 W. Kilbourn Ave., at about 4 p.m. Hotel security held him facedown before he died, with knees on parts of his back.
Mitchell’s death has invoked the police killing of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died in a similar fashion as police held him down with their knees on his back.
On Wednesday, the family, attorneys and supporters held a demonstration outside of a downtown Milwaukee police and court building. During the demonstration, attorneys said they had reviewed footage supplied by Hyatt that showed what had occurred inside the business.
The attorneys said it showed Mitchell appearing to run from something and into the women’s bathroom.
“D’Vontaye was trying to run for his life,” said attorney Will Sulton on Wednesday. It’s not clear what Mitchell was running from, the attorneys said.
When he was confronted by the guards, he had his hands up, but was dragged to the floor and beaten, begging for the blows to stop, according to the attorneys.
Members of Mitchell’s family told reporters they were “repulsed and shocked” by video footage.
An initial police news release said that security held him down following what it described as a disturbance and subsequent fight as he was escorted out. A family attorney said Mitchell was having a mental health crisis.
Earlier on Thursday, Mitchell’s family held a funeral for the 43-year-old man. Prominent civil right activist and minister Al Sharpton gave the eulogy, and hundreds attended the service.
Aimbridge Hospitality, the operator of the Hyatt hotel, said they had fired the employees involved in the incident on Wednesday night. That came after a Hyatt spokesperson said they supported firing the employees and criminal charges against them.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Four felony murder charges referred to DA’s office in D’Vontaye Mitchell death
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