Irvo Otieno’s family says video of death in police custody ‘traumatic’
Ten people have been arrested over the death of Irvo Otieno in police custody.
Damien Henderson, Associated Press
DINWIDDIE, Va. – Three employees of a mental health hospital in Virginia were charged with murder on Thursday, joining seven sheriff’s deputies also charged in the death of a man who died in handcuffs and leg irons while being held down.
Irvo Otieno died March 6 while undergoing treatment at Central State Hospital in suburban Petersburg, Virginia.
“They tortured him to death,” Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, tearfully told a press conference Thursday with her lawyers outside the Dinwiddie County Courthouse. “They treated him like a dog … worse than a dog.”
One of Otieno’s family lawyers, Mark Krudys, said the video showed all seven deputies pushing every part of Otieno’s body with “absolute brutality.”
“I was not really prepared to see this,” said Krudys to reporters. The video has not been released to the public.
Sheriffs claim Otieno became violent while admitted to the hospital and was restrained by seven Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies who took him there.
Security camera footage showed seven sheriff’s deputies at the hospital “shut down” him and waited three hours to report his death, prosecutors said during the officers’ first court hearing.
Prosecutor calls video of handcuffed, bound victim ‘disturbing’
A video from the hospital’s patient intake area apparently shows deputies throwing a handcuffed and bound Otieno face down and laying on his back to restrain him, and “suffocating him to death.” ,” Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskerville said at Wednesday’s hearing.
The entire video episode lasted about 12 minutes. While the footage was not shown in court, Baskervill called it “disturbing” and evidence of unnecessary cruelty against the victim. Baskervill said that after watching the video, he immediately sought arresting deputies.
“You can see they’re bringing it back,” Krudys said of the conference video. “Every part of his body is pushed with absolute brutality. You don’t see his image many times.”
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Otieno’s family retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump
Thursday’s hour-long news conference was called to introduce Ben Crump as co-counsel for Otieno’s family. Crump is a nationally known civil rights attorney who has appeared in several high-profile cases involving the deaths of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, high-profile murder victims. in the last 10 years.
Crump, Krudys and Otieno’s family were shown video of Otieno’s treatment at the Henrico local jail and later at the hospital. They all said they saw no evidence that Otieno was disruptive or violent as the deputies claimed.
Instead, as Crump said, they saw “almost a lifeless body” in handcuffs and leg chains being manipulated by deputies.
“What we just saw in the video that led to Irvo’s death is a commentary on how inhumane law enforcement officers treat people with mental health crises as criminals rather than they look like people who need help,” Crump said.
At the Henrico County jail, they said, a surveillance video showed Otieno handcuffed and naked in a cell with dirt on the floor allegedly belonging to him when deputies entered and began beating him. When he was taken from the prison to the hospital, he was shirtless but wearing some pants, and was in two handcuffs and leg chains and seemed very catatonic.
Krudys said hospital video showed Otieno sitting in a chair at a table in the hospital’s intake area with deputies restraining him. In no time, Krudys said, Otieno tried to stand up and put up a fight, and was pushed from the chair to the floor and restrained.
The video, according to the lawyers, shows not only the deputies restraining Otieno but also the three hospital employees who were arrested. Everyone, Krudys said, appeared to be standing “with their hands in their pockets” and did not try to intervene.
Crump likened Otieno’s case to the case of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis Police custody in 2020. The video seen around the world shows a police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck and saying , “I can’t breathe” several times.
“He was just laying there on the floor,” Crump said. “What is the possible threat to him?”
Crump and Krudys said they want the US Justice Department to launch an investigation. They also said they’d like to see Baskervill release the hospital video, but Baskervill reiterated that’s not something he plans to do.
The prosecutor said a key element of that evidence was surveillance video from Central State Hospital that captured the drinking process.
“To maintain the integrity of the criminal justice process at this point, I cannot publicly release the video,” Baskervill said.
Also Thursday, prosecutors also released the names of three hospital employees who were also charged in Otieno’s death. They are Darian M. Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg; Wavie L. Jones, 34, of Chesterfield; and Sadarius D. Williams, 27, of North Dinwiddie.
Lauren Cunningham, spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, said the three hospital workers were arrested and placed on administrative leave. Cunningham also said the hospital and DBHDS are “fully cooperating” with the Virginia State Police, the agency leading the investigation.
“We will respect the legal process as we and our staff continue to provide essential care to patients at Central State Hospital,” Cunningham said in an email to The Progress-Index, a division of the USA TODAY Network.
It was not immediately clear Thursday if the workers had attorneys.
2 deputies were given bond
All of the deputies were previously held without bond after turning themselves in on Tuesday, but two of them were released on bond after a hearing on Wednesday. Baskervill objected to the granting of bonds for the two officers.
But a Dinwiddie Circuit Court judge granted bonds of $15,000 for Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45, and $10,000 for Bradley Thomas Disse, 43, during the deputies’ first court appearance on Wednesday.
Branch and Disse were ordered to have no contact with anyone involved in the case while on bond.
Edward Nickel, an attorney for Disse, said in an email to The Associated Press Thursday that Disse served “honorably” in a 20-year career with the sheriff’s department.
“He’s looking forward to his chance to try this case and for the full truth to be shared in court and ultimately proven,” Nickel told the outlet.
The other five deputies are Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Tabitha Rene Levere, 50; Brandon Edward Rodgers, 48; and Kalyell Dajour Sanders, 30, remain in custody and are being held in regional jails. It is unclear if they have retained lawyers.
A Dinwiddie grand jury is scheduled to meet March 21 to determine whether the deputies and the hospital workers should be indicted. A conviction for second-degree murder carries a maximum of 40 years in prison in Virginia.
Henrico Sheriff Alisa Gregory told The Progress-Index that all seven deputies are on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of their cases.
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Prosecutor: Otieno’s cause of death was asphyxiation
A preliminary cause of death was asphyxiation, authorities said. The state medical examiner also preliminarily ruled the manner of death as homicide. The final cause is yet to be determined.
Baskervill said Virginia State Police, who led the investigation, were not notified of Otieno’s death until more than three hours after the incident.
Otieno, a native of Kenya who lived in Henrico, was reportedly experiencing mental health issues and was a suspect in a burglary in Henrico three days before his death, authorities said.
Otieno’s family lawyer Krudys said his clients were “distressed” after learning of the “brutal nature” of his death.
“The public, and experienced mental health professionals alike, will be appalled when the facts of this case are fully disclosed,” said Krudys who described Otieno as a well-loved and respected young man. In addition to the lawyer, Otieno is an aspiring musician who is also a well-known high school athlete in the area.
Krudys said the video shows a lack of urgency to help Otieno after deputies determined he was “lifeless” and not breathing.
“And then you see people standing around with their hands in their pockets and looking off into the distance,” Krudys said at Thursday’s news conference. “And there will be a significant period of time before any kind of rescue efforts can begin.”
After CPR, Krudys said the deputies “drifted out of the room and were talking to themselves.”
Contributing: Associated Press
