Prosecutors charged four Milwaukee hotel employees Tuesday as accessories to felony murder in connection with the death of D’Vontae Mitchell.
Mitchell was Black. The case has been compared to the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died in 2020 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about nine minutes. Floyd’s death sparked multiple protests across the country and prompted a national reckoning on race relations.
The four men charged – hotel security guard Todd Erickson, front desk clerk Devin Johnson Carson, bellboy Herbert Williamson and security guard Brandon Turner – each face up to 15 years and nine months in prison if convicted.
Reached by phone Tuesday evening, Erickson referred a request for comment to his lawyer, Michael Steinle, who did not respond to a voicemail or email.
It’s unclear whether the other three employees had attorneys; online court records as of Tuesday evening did not list attorneys for them.
Williamson’s phone listing has been disconnected, and The Associated Press could not immediately find phone numbers or other contact information for Johnson-Carson or Turner.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release that arrest warrants have been issued for all four employees. The office and Milwaukee Police Department did not immediately respond to emails asking whether the employees had been arrested or had attorneys.
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According to the criminal complaint, Mitchell entered the women’s restroom on June 30 and held him face down for eight to nine minutes before four employees dragged him out of the Hyatt hotel.
According to the lawsuit, an employee told investigators that Mitchell was having trouble breathing and had repeatedly called for help.
Ann autopsy Mitchell was morbidly obese and was found to be using cocaine and methamphetamine, according to the criminal complaint.
According to the lawsuit, Hyatt surveillance cameras showed Mitchell running into the hotel lobby, entering the gift shop and then into the women’s restroom.
Seconds later, a woman emerged and Turner, who was off duty but happened to be a visiting staff member at that moment, grabbed Mitchell by his shirt and dragged him out of the bathroom and into the lobby.
The two began to struggle, and Turner punched Mitchell, knocking him to the floor. Turner then punched Mitchell six times and, with the help of bystanders, dragged him out of the hotel. Mitchell got up and tried to go back into the hotel.
Williamson, Johnson Carson, and Erickson, who worked as the security chief, joined the fight. Along with Turner, they held Mitchell down on his stomach for eight to nine minutes until police and paramedics arrived. During that time, Mitchell repeatedly tried to escape, according to the lawsuit, and Erickson was seen on video hitting him with a baton until he was immobilized.
Video footage taken by a bystander includes audio of Mitchell moaning and saying he’s sorry. An autopsy revealed that Mitchell was morbidly obese and had cocaine and methamphetamine in his system.
The county medical examiner ultimately determined that Mitchell died of “restraint asphyxiation.” He said he might have survived if officials had placed him on his side, according to the lawsuit.
Erickson told investigators that Mitchell was very strong, continued to resist and attempted to bite him, but the guards maintained that they never intentionally hurt or harmed Mitchell.
Turner told detectives he heard women screaming after Mitchell went into the bathroom and thought Mitchell may have been taking drugs.
While the group was holding Mitchell down, he said they pulled Mitchell’s clothing away from his face, according to the complaint.
Johnson-Carson told investigators that Mitchell was “mentally unstable” and speaking gibberish, according to the criminal complaint.
Johnson-Carson said she remembers Mitchell saying “stop,” “why” and saying something about breathing while he was being held down. She told Williamson to stop applying pressure, and Williamson complied. Johnson-Carson said Mitchell showed “clear signs of extreme distress, including gagging, labored breathing and repeated pleas for help,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit concludes that the employees must have known Mitchell was in pain: “All of these factors — the shortness of breath, DM’s actions and words, and the state of pain he was in — indicate that all four defendants knew that pinning DM to the ground would ‘almost certainly’ harm his physical condition,” the lawsuit states.
Mitchell’s family and their lawyers previously Reviewing hotel surveillance video According to testimony provided by the District Attorney’s Office, the witness witnessed Mitchell being chased by security guards inside the hotel, dragged outside and beaten.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, part of the legal team representing Mitchell’s family, said video taken by a bystander and circulating on social media shows a security guard with his knee on Mitchell’s back and neck.
Crump posted a statement on X on Tuesday night, calling the charges “a major step toward justice for the family of Devontae Mitchell.”
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Mitchell’s widow, Deasia Harmon, said Tuesday she was relieved by the decision but questioned why it took weeks.
“These people were caught on camera taking my husband’s life,” she said. “They should have been prosecuted the moment they did it.”
Aimbridge Hospitality, which operates the hotel, previously said it had fired several staff members involved in Mitchell’s death.
The company released a statement Tuesday evening saying it is cooperating fully with law enforcement and will continue to cooperate with prosecutors. “Our thoughts are with Mr. Mitchell’s family and loved ones as this case evolves,” the statement said.
