7 Virginia sheriff deputies arrested in connection with inmate’s death

Seven Virginia deputies have been arrested and charged with second-degree homicide in reference to the demise of Irvo Otieno whereas he was in custody, court docket information mentioned.

The Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies turned themselves in to the Virginia State Police Bureau of Prison Investigations on the morning of Tuesday, March 14, mentioned Ann Cabell Baskervill, Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Legal professional in an announcement. 

All seven deputies have been positioned on administrative depart throughout the homicide investigation, mentioned Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Gregory in an announcement. They have been being held with out bond at Meherrin River Regional Jail in Alberta, Virginia, in keeping with jail information.

The deputies have been recognized as Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Jermaine Lavar Department, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48; and Kaivell Dajour Sanders, 30.

Otieno, 28, was being transported to Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, for therapy on March 6 when he turned combative, a spokesperson for the Virginia State Police instructed CBS Information. Central State is a maximum-security psychiatric facility run by the state. Jail information present that Otieno was positioned beneath supervised custody and assigned to a medical or hospital therapy heart. 

The circumstances surrounding Otieno’s transport to the hospital and demise aren’t clear, because the investigation is ongoing. Otieno was arrested on March 3, in keeping with CBS affiliate WTVR. Henrico police spokesperson Lt. Matt Pecka mentioned officers took Otieno to an “space hospital” for additional analysis the place Otieno “turned bodily assaultive in the direction of officers,” WTVR reported.

Otieno was then arrested on fees of assaulting regulation enforcement, disorderly conduct, and vandalism and brought to Henrico Jail West, Pecka mentioned.

Otieno’s mom instructed the Richmond Instances-Dispatch final week that her son had suffered from periodic bouts of psychological sickness starting in his late teenagers, however mentioned he didn’t have a document of violence. She additionally instructed mentioned that whereas her son had been dropped at the jail throughout the weekend, he would not be offered remedy to manage his psychological well being points till he noticed a jail physician on Monday.

When Otieno was scheduled to see the jail physician that Monday, he was taken to Central State Hospital, the place Virginia State police mentioned he was restrained and later died.

The state medical expert is working to find out Otieno’s trigger and method of demise.

Jails have struggled to handle inmates with psychological well being points. Jail deaths — typically associated to untreated psychological well being points — have jumped lately. In Virginia, the issue is especially acute. 

In 2021, there have been 77 in-custody deaths reported within the state, nearly double from the earlier 12 months, in keeping with a report by the Virginia Board of Native and Regional Jails. Seven of these deaths occurred as a result of the jails did not meet minimal requirements, and 6 of them have been in jails that did not have the 24-hour medical care that state laws require, the report discovered.

“It is a actually chaotic atmosphere,” mentioned Daniel Mistak, the Director of Well being Care Initiatives for Justice-Concerned Populations for Neighborhood Oriented Correctional Well being Providers, a not-for-profit primarily based in Oakland, California that gives nationwide oversight and monitoring for correctional well being methods. 

Jails do not have the assets or coaching to handle psychological well being crises for many individuals going via the reserving system, mentioned Mistak. Over the weekend there’s restricted means for jails, who have already got acute medical employees shortages, to handle and deal with inmates with unmet psychological well being wants, he mentioned.

“If somebody is at the start of a psychological well being disaster being booked into jail is the right option to speed up the disaster,” mentioned Mistak.