'We all need to stand up for him': Loved ones bid a final farewell for D'Vontaye Mitchell

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58)-- A funeral service was held Thursday for the man who died while being restrained outside of a Hyatt Regency in downtown Milwaukee.

D'Vontaye Mitchell, 43, died outside a Hyatt Regency hotel on Sunday June 30, restrained by a group of security guards.

With uplifting music and prayers, many loved ones said their final goodbyes Thursday morning.

"My heart is so heavy," said Mitchell's wife Deasia Harmon. "I just want to remember, I want to remember the best parts of him."

"I'm going to miss my brother," said Niyisha Mitchell. "Everything about him, him calling me 'hey, Niyisha girl, hey my beautiful sister.'"

His mother Brenda Giles gave a call to action, saying: "I have talked so much, cried so much, all I want to say is, I just thank each and every one of y'all for your love, support, prayer and y'all know we want justice, we want justice for D'Vontaye."

Mitchell's death has sparked national attention, so much so that Civil Rights Activist & Leader Rev. Al Sharpton flew in from New York to give his eulogy.

"This man did nothing for what he got, and we all need to stand up for him, so we stand up for ourselves," said. Rev. Sharpton. "We are not asking for an apology; we are asking for justice."

Rev. Sharpton, along with other community leaders compared Mitchell's death to that of George Floyd's--a Minneapolis man who died in 2020 after police officers used excessive force, including kneeling on his neck for several minutes.

"Whether we gotta go from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, you're going to learn to keep your knees off our necks," added Rev. Sharpton.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents the Mitchell family and was also a prominent Civil Rights figure in the George Floyd case, said at the memorial that the fight is far from over.

"His final words were, 'Please help me, please help me,' so we're here in the call for justice to say to the community and everybody here at Holy Redeemer, we’re going to help D'Vontaye," preached Attorney Crump.

The Hyatt Regency employees responsible for restraining Mitchell before he died have been fired, according to the company that operates the hotel.

Additionally, a statement from the Hyatt said they should be criminally charged.