10 Hospital Staff Charged in Tragic Death of Irvo Otieno

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A video from a mental hospital in Virginia shows a group of sheriffs holding down a Black man with handcuffs and shackles. The man died shortly after, and the sheriffs are now being charged with second-degree murder. This was seen by his relatives and their lawyers when they watched the footage Thursday.

Recently, a family and their lawyers said they watched a video together with the prosecutor showing how Irvo Otieno – who was 28 years old – had been treated really badly at a jail and then again in the state hospital (where he sadly died during the admission process). The family asked the US Department of Justice to look into this case because they think that Irvo’s rights under the law have been violated.

Today, it was very sad and upsetting to witness. Caroline Ouko, the mother of Otieno, shared that her son has been treated terribly. This case is yet another example where Black people have not been given fair treatment while in custody – just like what happened with Tyre Nichols in Memphis and George Floyd in Minneapolis a few years ago.

Ben Crump, who represented George Floyd’s family and is now working for the Otieno family, made a comparison about their fear-stricken situation.

He said in a statement that it was shocking to him that 3 years after George Floyd’s death from police brutality, another family was grieving over someone believed to have died in a very similar way – being suffocated by an officer for 12 long minutes.

Mark Krudys, another lawyer for Otieno’s family, said at the news conference that a video shows seven deputies forcing Otieno down with great force while he had handcuffs and leg irons.

He added that those seven people were putting all their strength in to push him down, and it showed an act of extreme cruelty towards him.

Ten people have now been accused of causing the death of Otieno. Seven deputies from Henrico County Sheriff’s Department were charged Tuesday, and the hospital staff had additional charges against them on Thursday.

The family saw a video of what happened on Thursday, but it hasn’t been shown to the public yet. The Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Attorney, Ann Cabell Baskervill, explained what was seen in court Wednesday and said that Otieno died from suffocation. Baskervill also reported that Otieno was not fighting back and was sitting in a chair before being knocked to the floor by officers.

Thursday, three people from Virginia were charged for the death of Otieno. Their names are Darian M. Blackwell (23, from Petersburg), Wavie L. Jones (34, from Chesterfield) and Sadarius D. Williams (27, from North Dinwiddie). For now, nobody knows if these people have attorneys or not. We don’t know what role they played in this incident either.

More people may be charged with a crime and taken into jail, according to Baskervill.

Otieno’s family comes from Kenya, and he was only little when they moved to Richmond. Otieno has had mental health issues in the past and was not feeling okay when dealing with police officers at the beginning of this month, his family and lawyers say.

After a series of unfortunate events, twenty-two year-old Otieno ended up spending some time in jail and passed away on March 6 when he was being admitted to Central State Hospital. Surveillance video from the hospital showed that the medical staff treating him weren’t quick enough to help even after they saw he had stopped breathing.

Otieno was dearly loved by his family and friends, he was an aspiring musician who also played sports at his high school.

Holding a photo of her son, Ouko said sadly at the news conference: “The only thing I have now is the goodness in his music – he’s not here anymore. I won’t be able to go to his wedding or meet my grandchild because somebody didn’t do anything to help him”.

According to Henrico County Police, Otieno had been taken into custody since March 3rd .

The police said they went to a place in the suburbs of Richmond after somebody reported that something was wrong there. When officers found Otieno, they decided it was necessary to take him away and check if he was okay at a hospital.

Krudys said that Otieno was having a difficult time mentally, so one of the neighbors asked the police for help. His mother tried to calm down the crowd of officers and said she wanted Otieno to be taken to a hospital to get help.

While at the hospital, police said he got aggressive with them, so they arrested him and took him to a jail run by the Henrico Sheriff’s Office. The family attorneys said while he was in jail, Otieno couldn’t get his medication that he needed. They also watched a video that showed officers hurt him physically.

Crump said the police sprayed pepper in his eyes and Krudys showed a video of cops going into Otieno’s cell on March 6. The video showed Otieno, who was naked and had handcuffs on, looked like he almost died. The police carried him away from the cell in a very rough way, as though he wasn’t even human.

Ouko, who is Otieno’s father said it was horrible to watch his son being treated worse than an animal.

Shannon Taylor, the lawyer representing Henrico County, said on Thursday she is figuring out what happened in the jail earlier that day. She also promised to show everyone what she discovered. The police officer in charge of Henrico County refused to say anymore after they issued a statement earlier this week.

At around 4 in the afternoon on March 6, some people from the sheriff’s office went to Central State Hospital to admit Otieno. But it wasn’t until 7:28 pm that night when the police were called over to investigate his death.

On Wednesday in court, there was a suggestion that two injections Otieno received could have caused his death, however this was not true according to Baskervill.

The police haven’t finished deciding how Otieno died yet. Two of the deputies were let out on bail, and the rest are still in jail. Edward Nickel, a lawyer for one of the released deputies – Deputy Bradley Disse – said that he has been working honorably with the police for 20 years now. Hearings will take place next week.

Nickel said in an email that he is excited for the chance to prove his case in court and reveal what really happened. Big Big News sent emails and other messages trying to get in touch with the other deputies’ lawyers.

The Henrico Fraternal Order of Police-Lodge 4 posted on social media saying that people should not make assumptions before further evidence is revealed. News reporters asked for a video of the incident but officials are not letting them see it yet because they are still investigating. The family wants the footage to be released so everyone can see it.

He asked, “How can we believe each other if we don’t talk honestly and take responsibility for our decisions?”. Ben Finley from the Associated Press wrote this report in Norfolk.