CNN
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Ten individuals related to the dying of a 28-year-old Black man through the consumption course of at a Virginia psychological well being facility final week have been charged with second-degree homicide.
His household desires solutions as to how a promising musician having what they known as a psychological well being disaster ended with him dying – and why nobody stood up for him and stored him from being killed.
The county prosecutor says legislation enforcement deputies “smothered him to dying” whereas restraining him. Hospital employees have additionally been charged.
The native legislation enforcement officers’ union says they “stand behind” the deputies whereas an lawyer for one of many deputies charged mentioned he appeared ahead to the complete reality being shared in courtroom.
Right here’s what we all know in regards to the lethal incident.
Irvo (pronounced EYE-voh) Otieno was 28. He had a ardour for music, household lawyer Mark Krudys mentioned Thursday, and was working to change into a hip-hop artist. Initially from Kenya, he got here to the US when he was 4.
His mom, Caroline Ouko, mentioned he had “discovered his factor” with music and will write a track in lower than 5 minutes. “He put his vitality in that and he was pleased with it,” she mentioned at a information convention Thursday.
Irvo had an enormous coronary heart, she mentioned, and was the one his classmates got here to once they had issues. He was a frontrunner who introduced his personal perspective to the desk, she added.
“If there was dialogue, he was not afraid to go the opposite method when everyone else was following,” she mentioned.
Her son had a psychological sickness that necessitated medication, Ouko mentioned. He had lengthy stretches the place “(you) wouldn’t even know one thing was flawed” after which there have been occasions when “he would go into some type of misery after which you realize he must see a health care provider,” she mentioned.
On March 3, Otieno was arrested by Henrico County police who have been responding to a report of a potential housebreaking, in response to a police information launch. The officers, accompanied by members of the county’s disaster intervention crew, positioned him underneath an emergency custody order.
The officers transported him to a hospital the place authorities say he assaulted three officers. Police took him to county jail and he was booked.
On March 6, Otieno was taken to a state psychological well being facility in Dinwiddie County and died through the consumption course of, in response to Commonwealth’s Lawyer Ann Cabell Baskervill.
“They smothered him to dying,” the prosecutor mentioned.
A preliminary report from the Workplace of Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond identifies asphyxiation as a explanation for dying, the commonwealth lawyer’s workplace mentioned in a press release.
Otieno was held on the bottom in handcuffs and leg irons for 12 minutes by seven deputies, Baskervill mentioned.
Seven sheriff’s deputies in Henrico County and three hospital employees have been charged with second-degree homicide.
The seven deputies who have been charged have been recognized in Baskervill’s launch Tuesday as Randy Joseph Boyer, 57, of Henrico; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37, of Sandston; Jermaine Lavar Department, 45, of Henrico; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43, of Henrico; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50, of Henrico; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48, of Henrico; and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30, of North Chesterfield.
The Henrico Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4, the native legislation enforcement officers’ union, issued a press release Tuesday saying they “stand behind” the deputies.
“Policing in America at the moment is troublesome, made much more so by the potential of being criminally charged whereas performing their responsibility,” the group mentioned. “The dying of Mr. Otieno was tragic, and we specific our condolences to his household. We additionally stand behind the seven accused deputies now charged with homicide by the Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Lawyer Ann Baskervill.”
The hospital employees arrested Thursday have been recognized as Darian M. Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg; Wavie L. Jones, 34, of Chesterfield; and Sadarius D. Williams, 27, of North Dinwiddie.
![Clockwise from top left: Tabitha Renee Levere, Randy Joseph Boyer, Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, Dwayne Alan Bramble, Bradley Thomas Disse, Brandon Edwards Rodgers and Jermaine Lavar Branch.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/230315105331-virginia-deputies-charged-murder-split.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_720,w_1280,c_fill)
There may be video footage however it won’t be launched to the general public. CNN requested the footage however was informed the fabric will not be topic to obligatory disclosure as a result of the investigation is ongoing.
“To keep up the integrity of the prison justice course of at this level, I’m not in a position to publicly launch the video,” mentioned Baskervill, noting surveillance video from the psychological well being facility recorded the consumption course of.
Otieno’s household has considered the video supplied by prosecutors Thursday and his mom says Otieno was tortured.
“My son was handled like a canine, worse than a canine,” she screamed, offended that nobody stopped what led to her son’s dying. “We have now to do higher.”
His older brother, Leon Ochieng, mentioned individuals ought to be assured in calling for assist when their family members are in disaster. He didn’t consider the individuals he noticed on the video cared about preserving a life.
“What I noticed was a dull human being with none illustration,” Ochieng mentioned, including that his household is now damaged and is looking for extra consciousness on find out how to deal with these with psychological diseases.
“Can somebody clarify to me why my brother will not be right here, proper now?” Ochieng mentioned.
CNN has sought remark from the deputies and obtained phrase from attorneys of two of the people charged.
Peter B. Baruch, an lawyer for Disse, issued a press release defending his consumer.
“Deputy Disse has had a 20-year profession with the Sheriffs division, and has served honorably. He’s wanting ahead to his alternative to do that case and for the complete reality to be shared in courtroom and being vindicated,” he mentioned.
Bramble’s lawyer, Steven Hanna, mentioned he was nonetheless gathering data and declined to remark additional.
CNN has not heard from the opposite attorneys it has recognized as representing the opposite defendants.
Household attorneys say Otieno posed no risk to the deputies.
Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who’s engaged on behalf of the household, mentioned Otieno was not violent or aggressive with the deputies.
“You see within the video he’s restrained with handcuffs, he has leg irons on, and also you see within the majority of the video that he appears to be in between lifelessness and unconsciousness, however but you see him being restrained so brutally with a knee on his neck,” Crump mentioned Thursday.
Crump mentioned the video is a “commentary on how inhumane legislation enforcement officers deal with people who find themselves having a psychological well being disaster as criminals reasonably than treating them as people who find themselves in want of assist,” he mentioned.
Very like the arrest and dying of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, Otieno was face down and restrained, Crump mentioned.
“Why would anyone not have sufficient widespread sense to say we’ve seen this film earlier than?” he mentioned.
Household lawyer Mark Krudys mentioned the deputies had engaged in extreme drive.
“His mom was principally crying out for assist for her son in a psychological well being state of affairs. As a substitute, he was thrust into the prison justice system, and aggressively handled and handled poorly on the jail,” he mentioned.
The video from the psychological well being facility exhibits the costs are applicable, Krudys mentioned.
“Whenever you see that video … you’re simply going to ask your self, ‘Why?’” he mentioned.
The ten defendants will seem in courtroom on Tuesday earlier than a grand jury, in response to on-line courtroom data. Crump has known as for the US Division of Justice to participate within the investigation.
If convicted, the jail sentence for second-degree homicide in Virginia is a minimal of 5 years with a most of 40 years.