Virginia
Family of Irvo Otieno agrees to $8.5M settlement after Virginia psychiatric hospital restraint tragedy
RICHMOND, Va. – The family of a man who died while handcuffed and pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes as he was being admitted to a Virginia psychiatric hospital has reached an $8.5 million settlement with the state and the county and sheriff whose deputies were involved in restraining him.
A judge approved the out-of-court wrongful death settlement Tuesday, according to public records.
Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man, died in March after being pressed to the floor of Central State Hospital for about 11 minutes by a group of Henrico County sheriff’s deputies and hospital employees. Surveillance video that captured how Otieno was treated at the facility where he was set to receive care sparked outrage across the U.S. and calls for mental health and policing reforms.
His death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation. Ten defendants were indicted on second-degree murder charges, but charges against two of the hospital employees were later dropped.
Otieno’s family has said he had a long history of mental health problems and was struggling to breathe while he was being held down. Some of the defendants’ lawyers have said that Otieno was combative and they were simply trying to restrain him.
RICHMOND, VA – MARCH 29: A young family member studies the program during the funeral for Irvo Otieno, killed by sherrifs deputies and employees of Central State Hospital earlier this month, in Richmond, VA. (Photo by Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post
The settlement agreement says the state, county and the sheriff have not admitted any liability and deny that their actions caused Otieno’s death, but have agreed to collectively pay the $8.5 million to Otieno’s family and their attorneys.
Macaulay Porter, a spokeswoman for Gov. Glenn Youngkin, said Wednesday the governor pushed for a settlement “with the hope that doing so proactively and fairly might alleviate – in a small way – some of the suffering that Irvo’s mother and brother faced, recognizing that no settlement can take the place of a loved one.”
Attorneys for Otieno’s family, including prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Virginia attorney Mark Krudys, said in a statement the family “is pleased that they were able to find a resolution outside of court in a manner that honors Irvo’s life.”
While the statement from Crump and Krudys referred to the settlement as “confidential,” its terms were outlined in a signed order on file at the Henrico County Circuit Court.
It includes a payment of about $5 million to Otieno’s mother and siblings, after the payment of funeral and burial expenses and attorneys fees of over $3 million.
Otieno, who emigrated from Kenya as a young child, was experiencing mental distress at the time of his initial encounter with law enforcement in suburban Richmond in early March, days before he was taken to the state hospital, his family has said.
He was first taken into police custody March 3, when he was transported to a local hospital for mental health treatment under an emergency custody order.
Police have said that while at the local hospital, he “became physically assaultive toward officers,” at which point they arrested him and took him to a local jail, a transfer Otieno’s family has said should never have happened. On the afternoon of March 6, he was transferred to the state hospital in Dinwiddie County south of Richmond, which has a unit that provides care for people admitted from jails or by court order.
The hospital video, which had no audio, showed sheriff’s deputies and hospital staff attempting to restrain Otieno. For much of that time, Otieno was on the floor being pinned down by the group. The video also showed unsuccessful resuscitation efforts.
An autopsy conducted by the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was asphyxia, while the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Attorneys for many of the defendants have said they will vigorously fight the legal charges against them.
Otieno was remembered at his funeral, where the eulogy was delivered by the Rev. Al Sharpton, as an empathetic, energetic and well-respected friend, teammate and musical artist.
“Henrico County continues to offer its heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Otieno,” Ben Sheppard, a spokesman for Henrico County, said in a statement Wednesday.
Late last year, Youngkin launched a wide-ranging initiative aiming to overhaul Virginia’s fractured system for the delivery of mental health care services.
“Governor Youngkin remains committed to transforming the behavioral health system to ensure that those in crisis will receive the care they need and that they will receive it at the right time and in the right place,” Porter said Wednesday.
___
Associated Press writer Denise Lavoie reported from Glen Allen, Virginia.
Virginia
VIDEO: UVA Football Players Preview the Virginia Tech Game
With the game of year looming this weekend, members of the Virginia football team were made available to to the media after practice on Tuesday morning to talk about the regular season finale against Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday night in Blacksburg. Watch the video below to hear what UVA senior safety Jonas Sanker, graduate tight ends Tyler Neville and Sackett Wood Jr., and graduate defensive tackle Jahmeer Carter had to say ahead of the Virginia Tech game:
Sanker is the team’s leader in tackles with 89 total tackles and also leads the ACC in solo stops with 60 unassisted tackles. He has racked up 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and an interception as part of a strong senior campaign that should earn Sanker some serious consideration for a First-Team All-ACC selection.
A transfer from Harvard, Tyler Neville is Virginia’s second-leading receiver with 35 catches for 387 yards and two touchdowns. Sackett Wood Jr., meanwhile, has recorded three receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown this season. Between the two of them, Neville and Wood have combined to appear in 83 college football games and make 48 starts.
Saturday will be the 55th game in the five-year career of Jahmeer Carter, who has started nearly every game for the last four seasons at Virginia. This season, Carter has 30 total tackles, including nine solo stops, two tackles for loss, one sack, and a pass defender. For his career, Carter is up to 131 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 7.5 tackles for loss.
Saturday night will be the first time Virginia plays at Lane Stadium in front of fans since the 2018 season, as the 2020 edition of the Commonwealth Clash was played in front of only 250 fans due to COVID-19 restrictions and then the 2022 Virginia vs. Virginia Tech game was canceled due to the shooting tragedy at UVA.
Virginia is seeking its first road victory at Virginia Tech since 1998, as the Hokies have won the last 11 Commonwealth Clash games played at Lane Stadium. Virginia Tech has won 17 of the last 18 overall games against Virginia and leads UVA 61-38-5 in the all-time series that dates back to 1895.
Both Virginia and Virginia Tech bring a 5-6 overall record into the regular season finale and both need to win the game in order to reach the six-win threshold required for bowl eligibility. There is only one other game this weekend between FBS teams who are battling for bowl eligibility (Eastern Michigan vs. Western Michigan). Virginia and Virginia Tech played each other for bowl eligibility at the end of the 2014 season.
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Virginia
Virginia Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 Night results for Nov. 26, 2024
The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 26, 2024, results for each game:
Mega Millions
Mega Millions drawings take place every week on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.
05-22-24-39-42, Mega Ball: 03, Megaplier: 3
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 7-3-0, FB: 2
Day: 7-2-1, FB: 5
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 1-6-6-8, FB: 5
Day: 7-4-5-8, FB: 4
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 5
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 0-5-4-9-9, FB: 2
Day: 6-9-5-3-2, FB: 0
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash4Life
Drawing everyday at 9 p.m.
04-11-13-30-39, Cash Ball: 02
Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash Pop
Drawing times: Coffee Break 9 a.m.; Lunch Break 12 p.m.; Rush Hour 5 p.m.; Prime Time 9 p.m.; After Hours 11:59 p.m.
Coffee Break: 04
After Hours: 05
Prime Time: 06
Rush Hour: 09
Lunch Break: 12
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash 5
Drawing every day at 11 p.m.
12-22-31-38-44
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Center for Community Journalism (CCJ) editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Virginia
Virginia Basketball Holds Off Manhattan 74-65 | Key Takeaways
Virginia (4-2) got back in the win column with a 74-65 victory over Manhattan (3-3) on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Here are our five quick takeaways from the Cavaliers’ win over the Jaspers.
Virginia was in serious need of a win after suffering those two humbling losses to Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. But a convincing and comfortable victory would have been even better and for a while, it seemed like the Cavaliers were on their way to doing just that. UVA led by as many as 15 points in the first half and opened up a 16-point advantage midway through the second half. But rather than putting the game away, Virginia let Manhattan hang around and the visiting Jaspers were in a situation where they were fouling to stop the clock in the final minutes, narrowing the deficit to as little as six points. A win is a win, but this was far from a confidence-boosting performance.
Virginia went with a new starting lineup on Tuesday night, as Andrew Rohde replaced TJ Power. Rohde has been playing very well recently, particularly with his resurgent outside shot, while Power came into this game shooting 25% from beyond the arc this season.
Power initially responded well to the benching, swishing a corner three shortly after he first entered the game, hitting the deck for a loose ball, and coming up with a steal to stop a Manhattan fastbreak. But he wound up playing only six minutes, fewest among Cavaliers who saw the floor in the game. That does not bode well for the Duke transfer.
Read Val’s Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here.
Rohde, on the other hand, had another solid game and was perhaps the top performer for the Hoos on Tuesday night. Though he missed his only three-pointer, which was a desperation off-balanced heave at the end of the shot clock, Rohde finished with a season-high 14 points, two assists (with one turnover), two rebounds, and four steals. Rohde showed excellent feel for the game, getting exactly where he wanted to go and exhibiting some nice touch on a couple of floaters plus a short jumper off the glass. If Rohde is playing like this and his three-point shot continues to be there, this could be a big season for the former St. Thomas transfer.
The main reason why this game continued to be close deep into the second half is because UVA’s defense frequently broke down and gave up open shots to Manhattan, particularly from the perimeter. The Jaspers shot 11/26 (42.3%) from beyond the arc and and seven different players knocked down a three. A couple of those Manhattan triples were well-contested, but the vast majority of them were wide-open. That’s very concerning and shows that this Virginia defense, with its many new faces, is still very much a work in progress.
Virginia’s offense was pretty well neutralized by Tennessee and St. John’s in The Bahamas. Tuesday night against Manhattan was a small step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement.
Let’s start with the good. Five different Cavaliers scored in double figures, including a game-high 18 points from Isaac McKneely, who hit three of his four three-point attempts and went 5/6 from the free throw line. We still think McKneely needs to shoot way more, but we’ll leave that alone for now. Dai Dai Ames scored 10 points and dished out five assists, but fouled out of the game. Blake Buchanan made his first four shots and finished with 11 points and five boards. Cofie made five of his seven shots and finished with 10 points and five boards. The best part of the game was that Virginia had 15 assists on 29 made baskets and turned the ball over only eight times, a vast improvement over the team’s turnover issues in The Bahamas.
Virginia outscored Manhattan 42-22 in the paint. That looks like a good stat, but it’s also an inevitable stat because of UVA’s size advantage over the Jaspers, whose tallest player in the rotation is 6’8″. Still, Manhattan snared 10 offensive rebounds and scored 11 second-chance points. In The Bahamas, UVA was dominated on the glass and was simply outmatched from a physicality and athleticism standpoint. Nothing we saw from the Cavaliers on Tuesday night did anything to alleviate those concerns.
Up next, Virginia remains at home for another (supposed) tune-up game against Holy Cross on Friday at 4pm at John Paul Jones Arena.
Virginia vs. Manhattan Live Updates | NCAA Men’s Basketball
UVA Basketball: Ten Things We Learned About Virginia in The Bahamas
Virginia Basketball Falls to St. John’s 80-55 | Key Takeaways
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