Dvontaye Mitchell, 43, went to the downtown Hyatt Regency hotel on June 30.
Police said a person had entered the business, “caused a disturbance” and “fought with security guards as they were escorting” him out, Milwaukee police said. Security detained him until police arrived.
When authorities arrived, he was unresponsive, and after lifesaving measures, he was pronounced deceased, police said.
Jarring video of the interaction recorded by a bystander showed Mitchell prone on the ground in front of the hotel with four security guards pinning him down.
At least one appeared to be kneeling on his back — similar to the position police held Floyd in for over eight minutes before he died May 2020 in Minneapolis. Another security guard was seen at Mitchell's head, and the others held his legs and arms down. One of the guards also appeared to hit him in the head with an object several times.
Mitchell was heard grunting, and in a ragged voice he shouted: “Please! Help! Please! I’m sorry!”
A guard yelled, “Stay down! Stop fighting!”
That guard noticed they were being recorded and said toward the camera, “This is what happens when you go into the ladies room!”
Officials have not detailed what disturbance Mitchell is alleged to have caused, and it's not clear what happened immediately before the video was recorded.
Mitchell’s mother, Brenda Giles, believes her son was suffering a mental health episode, Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney retained by the Mitchell family, said in a statement Wednesday.
The Milwaukee County medical examiner said Mitchell's preliminary manner of death is homicide, which means death at the hands of another person and doesn't always suggest wrongdoing. However, the final results are yet to be determined.