Four former Milwaukee hotel workers charged in killing of Black man
By Brendan O'Brien
Aug 7 (Reuters) -Four former Hyatt Regency hotel employees in Milwaukee were charged with murder in the death of a Black man who was pinned to the ground in a prone position for several minutes during an altercation that echoed the choking death of George Floyd.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney charged each of the four men with one count of felony murder on Tuesday. They are accused of killing D’Vontaye Mitchell, 43, on June 30 outside of the hotel in downtown Milwaukee, according to a criminal complaint posted online by TMJ4, a local NBC affiliate.
Charged were security guards Todd Erickson and Brandon Turner, Devin Johnson-Carson, a front desk clerk, and bellman Herbert Williamson. Turner was not on duty at the time of the incident. The men, who were dismissed by Hyatt after the incident, face up to 15 years and nine months in prison if convicted.
Officials in the district attorney's office and the Milwaukee Police Department were not immediately available for comment. Attorneys for the four men were not yet listed on an online database for the Wisconsin court system.
Erickson is white. The three other men are Black, according to the database.
Mitchell's widow DeAsia Harmon told WISN, a local ABC affiliate, that the men should have been charged soon after the incident.
"It's a relief. I'm grateful that they're charging them with something. I'm not satisfied," she said.
The incident has evoked memories of the killing of George Floyd, who was Black, in Minneapolis in 2020, when police officers pinned him to the ground in a prone position for several minutes. That incident, captured on cellphone video, unleashed a wave of protests worldwide against police brutality and racism.
Four officers were eventually convicted of manslaughter and other crimes in Floyd's death.
The Milwaukee altercation began when Turner confronted Mitchell after he ran through the lobby in a "frantic manner," briefly entering the gift shop and then a women's bathroom, prosecutors wrote in the complaint.
A scuffle between the two ensued and punches were thrown before an hotel guest and Turner dragged Mitchell outside on to the hotel driveway. Turner, along with other three defendants, then wrestled Mitchell to the pavement where they punched him, beat him with a baton and pinned him to the ground in a prone position for eight to nine minutes, prosecutors wrote.
"Towards the end of that time period, Mitchell has stopped showing movement or resistance or other signs of life," they wrote, noting that paramedics who arrived on the scene were not able to revive Mitchell.
Cellphone video footage captured Mitchell breathing heavily as he says "please" and "I'm sorry" while the men yell "stay down" and "stop fighting," the complaint said.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office found in its autopsy that Mitchell's death was caused by restraint asphyxia and the manner of death was homicide. The medical examiner also found cocaine and methamphetamine in Mitchell's system, the complaint said.
Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Frank McGurty and Jonathan Oatis
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
