A report released on Friday provides the most detail yet on the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell, the 43-year-old man who died June 30 as hotel security guards held him face down for about 10 minutes and from the effects of drug use.
On Friday, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office released a final report detailing his cause of death — citing asphyxiation from being held down and the “toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine” — and a narrative report of what took place the day Mitchell died and the events after.
Some details of Mitchell’s death have been known for a month, as it was documented by bystanders outside the Hyatt Regency and the family’s attorneys have detailed unreleased footage from inside the hotel that the DA’s office allowed them to review.
However, the accompanying narrative report released on Friday provides the clearest picture yet of the events that led up to and after his death.
A synopsis says that Mitchell was "restrained by four people after being combative in the hotel lobby. He reportedly went unresponsive while staff awaited police arrival. Illicit drug paraphernalia was found on his person."
His death has spurred community outrage and frequent family protests, with the family calling for charges to be brought against those involved.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office said it was awaiting the final medical examiner’s report before deciding on charges. Milwaukee Police Department referred four charges of felony murder to the attorney’s office in early July.
The District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Here’s what we know from the report:
The report details Milwaukee police interviewed the four hotel employees — two guards and two staffers who assisted — and determined Mitchell was held down for about 10 minutes.
The four hotel employees denied restraining him by the neck or placing him in any chokehold.
“They stated that they held down his extremities and chest with moderate pressure while Dvontaye was combative. They relieved the pressure while he stopped resisting and applied more pressure when he became combative again,” the report reads.
According to the report, the incident began as Mitchell entered the lobby of the Hyatt Regency and “appeared to be frantic and panting” as he hid behind various lobby objects and in the concession area.
Hotel staff then told Mitchell to leave, but he ran into the women’s restroom and attempted to lock himself there, with women inside. The women began to scream and two hotel security guards “gained entry” into the restroom and removed Mitchell from it.
The report details Mitchell “became combative” with the guards and attempted to reach into their pockets. They then dragged him out of the hotel, with two other hotel employees assisting the security staff.
Mitchell continued to be combative, the report said, and “all four employees held him down on the concrete face down until MPD arrived.”
At about 10 p.m. June 30, a Milwaukee police detective told Mitchell’s mother, Brenda Giles, of his death.
The report says Giles told police her son was homeless and had been recently admitted to a drug rehabilitation clinic. He also struggled with mental health issues, she told the detective, according to the report.
The next day, a representative of the medical examiner’s office spoke with Giles as well. She told them she last spoke to Mitchell through social media on June 22 and provided details on his family.
Giles also said her son did not have problems with alcohol and was unaware of a history of drug use.
Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office on Friday determined the death of D'Vontaye Mitchell ahomicide, caused by being restrained by Hyatt Regency hotel security and the toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine.
The medical examiner report determined Mitchell's cause of death was "restraint asphyxia and toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine." The report said Mitchell's injury occurred as he was "restrained in prone position by multiple individuals after drug (cocaine, methamphetamine) use."
It noted other significant conditions as hypertensive cardiovascular disease and morbid obesity.
Will Sulton, one of the family's attorneys, said the report "confirms the obvious."
"The report confirms what we all saw on video, that Mr. Mitchell was murdered by Hyatt security officers," he said.
Sulton was critical of the medical examiner's office's decision to include drug use in the report.
"I think it was reckless for the medical examiner's office to write the report that way. The reason it's reckless is because it gives a false impression that it had anything to do with Mr. Mitchell's death and it did not and they know it," he said.