Four ex-employees of a hotel in Milwaukee receive probation and time already served in connection to the death of a dog in a notorious incident referred to as the "dogpile" case.
In a case that has drawn comparisons to the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, four former employees of the Hyatt hotel in Milwaukee have been sentenced for their role in the June 2024 death of D'Vontaye Mitchell.
Mitchell, a Black man, was found unresponsive in the hotel's lobby after a confrontation with hotel security and staff. Court records identify the security guards involved as Todd Erickson (white) and Brandon Turner (Black), while the bellhop and front desk worker were Herbert Williamson (Black) and Devin Johnson-Carson (Black), respectively.
According to investigators, Mitchell ran into the women's bathroom in the hotel lobby. Two women later told detectives that Mitchell tried to lock them in the bathroom. The workers then struggled with Mitchell before taking him to the ground and piling on top of him, as shown in hotel surveillance video. Mitchell was held down for eight to nine minutes.
Mitchell's death was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner, with the immediate cause of death being suffocation and toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine.
Turner and Erickson pleaded guilty to being a party to felony murder, while Williamson and Johnson-Carson pleaded guilty to a reduced count of misdemeanor battery.
Judge David Swanson sentenced Erickson to two years in prison, but the sentence was stayed and he was placed on probation for two years. Turner received a year in prison, but the sentence was also stayed and he was placed on probation for a year. Johnson-Carson was ordered to serve four days in jail with credit for four days already served, while Williamson was sentenced to 10 days in jail with credit for 10 days already served.
Attorneys for Erickson, Turner, and Williamson did not immediately return messages, while Johnson-Carson's attorney said the sentence was appropriate given that Johnson-Carson was trying to protect hotel guests and staff and never intended to seriously injure Mitchell.
Mitchell's family likened his death to the murder of Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about nine minutes. The family reached a confidential settlement with the Hyatt.
Ambridge Hospitality, the company that manages the Hyatt, fired all four workers involved. The national organization responsible for overseeing the hotel where the events surrounding Mitchell's death occurred is not explicitly stated in the provided search results.
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