Virginia, US.- CCTV footage from a Virginia state psychiatric hospital shows a handcuffed black man being restrained by seven officers who now face second-degree murder charges.
Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Solicitor Ann Cabell Baskervill claimed during the first court hearing for the seven officers that Irvo Otieno died of suffocation.
During a press conference on Thursday, Mark Krudys, a lawyer for Otieno’s family, described how the seven officers pushed “every part of his body” with “absolute brutality.”
“I really wasn’t prepared to see this,” Krudys said of the video, stressing that Otieno was handcuffed and in leg irons.
“You can see that they are putting her back against the floor. Every part of her body is being pushed down with absolute brutality. You can’t even see her image many times.”
Baskervill commented in court that the officers had no justification for putting Otieno, who was being searched, on the ground. The prosecutor said that Otieno did not appear combative and that he was sitting in a chair before the officers threw him to the ground. “It was a demonstration of illegal power,” the prosecutor considered.
The Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release that three hospital employees were also charged in Otieno’s death.
The prosecutor identified the three clinic employees, also charged with second-degree murder, as Darian Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg; Wavie Jones, 34, of Chesterfield; and Sadarius Williams, 27, of North Dinwiddie.
Otieno, a 28-year-old from Henrico County, had a history of mental health problems and was experiencing mental anguish at the time of his initial encounter with police earlier this month, according to statements from his family and one of his attorneys. .
The young man died March 6 while at Central State Hospital south of Richmond.
Otieno’s family was expected to view video of the events leading up to his death on Thursday, according to a news release from his attorneys, Krudys and Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney known for representing victims in police brutality cases. .
What has been described so far “paints an appalling and inhumane picture,” said Crump, who represented George Floyd’s family. “It is truly shocking that almost three years after the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Police, another family is mourning a loved one who supposedly died in much the same way: by being restrained by authority for 12 agonizing minutes.” repudiation.
Otieno, whose family is from Kenya, was a well-liked and respected young man, an aspiring musician who had been a well-known athlete in the area, Krudys said.
He was first in the custody of law enforcement on March 3, according to a schedule provided by the Henrico County Police.
The police department said in a news release that officers responding to a report of a possible robbery on March 3 in suburban Richmond encountered Otieno and, based on his behavior, took him into emergency custody and he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
The press release did not describe the behavior that led to the arrest warrant.
In an interview Thursday, Krudys said a neighbor called police because he was concerned that Otieno was collecting lights for a backyard lawn.
Krudys said Otieno’s mother tried to defuse the initial police encounter and the family supported taking him to a hospital, believing he needed mental health treatment.
While at the hospital, police said the young man “became physically aggressive towards the arresting officers” and was taken to a local jail run by the Henrico Sheriff’s Office, where he was charged with various charges.
On March 6, sheriff’s office employees arrived at Central State Hospital south of Richmond to admit Otieno.
Krudys said there was a delay in getting the necessary medicines for Otieno while he was in jail. He also stated that the family does not understand why Otieno was transferred from jail to the state hospital about 45 minutes away instead of a local mental health center.
“It’s incredibly tragic. And it also evokes a lot of anger in regards to the family in terms of how their loved one was treated,” Krudys said.
The judge set bail for two of the officers. It was not immediately clear if they were released. The other officers were in the process of obtaining legal advice and remained in custody.
One of the defense attorneys suggested that two medical injections Otieno received may have played a role in his death, which Baskervill disputed.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not released its final determination on the cause and manner of Otieno’s death.
Edward Nickel, attorney for Rep. Bradley Disse, one of the defendants, said in an email Thursday that Disse has served “honorably” during a 20-year career with the sheriff’s department.
“He is looking forward to the opportunity to try this case and have the full truth shared in court and ultimately vindicated,” Nickel said in an email.
Baskervill has said that the Virginia State Police, which is leading the investigation, was not called to the hospital until several hours after Otieno’s death.
News outlets, including The Associated Press, have sought videos of the altercation from the state agency that runs the hospital or the Virginia State Police. Officials hide it from the public, citing the pending investigation.
