After seeing the video, the family of Virginia’s , who is being accused by seven Virginia deputies of murder, said that the man was in the midst a mental crisis and was handcuffed, shackled, and did not pose any threat to law enforcement officers.
Caroline Ouko stated Thursday that her son was treated worse than dogs and treated as a dog. He was killed. They took my baby’s breath away. They killed my baby.
Seven Henrico County officers have been charged in second-degree murder for the death of Irvo Atieno (28), on March 6. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for Dinwiddie County announced Thursday that three hospital employees were also charged in Otieno’s death.
Wednesday’s court hearing by the Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office revealed that Otieno died from asphyxia after he was smothered to death. Otieno was held down and supervised by at least seven others.
On Thursday, Otieno’s family members and attorneys were shown video of events as he was being registered in a state hospital following a previous arrest.
Attorney Ben Crump stated that the “observation” was a commentary on how cruel law enforcement officers treat those suffering from a mental illness as criminals rather than as individuals in need of assistance.
Mark Krudys was an attorney representing Otieno’s family. He said that the footage showed all seven deputies pushing Otieno down with “absolute violence.”
Krudys stated, “I wasn’t really ready to see this.”
“You can clearly see that they are putting their backs into it. His entire body is being crushed with brutality. His image is often obscured.
According to court documents, four of the deputies weighed more than 250 pounds. The heaviest was 320 pounds.
Crump stated that it was “truly shocking” that three years ago, George Floyd was brutally killed by police. Now, Crump says that another family is still grieving the loss of a loved one who died in the same way. Crump said that the incident at the hospital lasted only 11 minutes.
Prosecutors claim that Otieno was in leg irons and handcuffed when he was placed on the ground by deputies.
Otieno’s lawyers stated that they hope that the Department of Justice will investigate Otieno’s death.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Randy Joseph Boyer (57), Dwayne A Bramble (37), Jermaine Branch (45), Bradley Thomas Disse (43), Tabitha Renee Levere (50), Brandon Edwards Rodgers (48) and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders (30) were all charged.
Edward K. Nickel, Disse’s lawyer, stated Thursday that his client was looking forward to answering the allegations. He stated that the charges were brought about by criminal information. This is an unusual way to initiate paperwork for arrest in Virginia. “However the Grand Jury will decide the final charges against our client, if any,” he said.
Branch’s representative, Cary Bowen said that his client has been with them for 24 years.
He said, “None of them is known as bullies.”
Thursday afternoon, the other deputy could not be reached for comment and it was unclear if they had lawyers who would speak on their behalf.
Otieno was arrested before his death and accused of assaulting Henrico officers at Parham Doctors Hospital following a possible burglary call on March 3.
According to the department, Otieno was placed under an “emergency custody” order by Henrico police officers. According to Virginia law, such orders can be used in cases of mental illness.
Henrico police stated that Otieno became physically abusive toward officers at the hospital and was taken to a local jail by the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office where he was charged with several offenses.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Otieno was admitted to Central State Hospital by the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office at 3:58 p.m. on March 6.
State police were summoned to investigate the death of his father at 7:30 p.m. Prosecutors claim that he became combative while being admitted to the hospital by state police investigators.
Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Greg has confirmed that the deputies were placed on administrative leave.
His family described Otieno as an honest person, who was concerned about fairness and selflessness. His relatives also said that he was a hip-hop artist who could write songs in just five minutes.
The roots of the family are in Kenya.
Leon Ochieng described the death of his younger brother as a “tragic and senseless, inhumane nightmare.”
“Can anyone explain to me why my brother doesn’t live with us right now?” Ochieng asked, “Please explain to me why my mother isn’t sleeping and can’t eat.” We are broken. “Our hearts are broken.”
