![]() ![]() Ouko said her son was "as American as apple pie" and had a big heart. "He often said he wanted to be great one day and help our village in Kenya with their needs." "Irvo loved sports, music and the beach," his older brother Leon Ochieng wrote in a GoFundMe raising money for his funeral. He was a standout athlete on his high school basketball and football teams, went to college in California for some time and was pursuing a career in hip-hop. Otieno's family, which he described as close-knit, moved to the U.S. In the meantime, Krudys said he'd like those learning about the case to focus on the person at the center of it. He was treated inhumanely, and it was traumatic and it was systematic."īefore the press conference, Krudys told NPR that they expect the video of Otieno's death will be made public at some point, likely early next week - though Baskervill said on Thursday that "to maintain the integrity of the criminal justice process at this point, I am not able to publicly release the video." "My son was treated like a dog - worse than a dog - I saw it with my own eyes on the video. "Mental illness should not be your ticket to death," said Otieno's mother, Caroline Ouko, noting that mental health is on the decline across the country, exacerbated by the pandemic. Otieno's family members and their lawyers called for answers and justice in his case, as well as broader reforms to stop something similar from playing out again. Department of Justice should intervene, arguing that the case spans multiple jurisdictions and involves violation of Otieno's constitutional rights. Otieno's family is being represented by civil rights attorneys Mark Krudys and Ben Crump, who saw the hospital surveillance footage for the first time on Thursday.Īt a news conference that afternoon, the attorneys detailed what they called a "continuum of abuse" Otieno faced from the moment he was taken into custody. The sheriff's office says it is cooperating with a Virginia State Police investigation into the incident, as well as conducting its own independent review. "A key element of that evidence is the surveillance video from Central State Hospital that captures the intake process." "The criminal information warrants are based on the evidence collected, analyzed and evaluated to-date," she added. Williams, 27.īaskervill said Thursday that the case will go before a grand jury next week "for a final determination of charges going forward." It is not clear what jobs they held at the facility. On Thursday, Baskervill's office said three employees of Central State Hospital had also been charged with second-degree murder in the case, bringing the total number of arrests to 10. They were arrested - each facing one felony charge of second-degree murder - and turned themselves in to state police that same day. They were placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the case, Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Gregory said on Tuesday. ![]() Center, at Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County, Va., pictured in 2018.īaskervill's office named the deputies as Randy Joseph Boyer, 57 Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37 Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45 Bradley Thomas Disse, 43 Tabitha Renee Levere, 50 Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48 and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30. Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP The S.T.A.R. "It allows for a justified and immediate removal of these seven individuals from their current capacities." "This legal tactic is for the purpose of protecting other Henrico County jail residents," she said. In a statement shared with NPR, Baskervill described that as a rare but necessary step. ![]() The video shows "deliberate and cruel" treatment, said Baskervill, who filed a criminal information charge - a way of beginning criminal proceedings without needing a grand jury's vote - against the deputies. "He died of asphyxia due to being smothered." In court on Wednesday, she said videos show that seven sheriff's deputies held him on the ground for some 12 minutes. Otieno was restrained with handcuffs and leg shackles throughout the hospital intake process, according to Dinwiddie County Commonwealth's Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill. ![]() He spent three days in a local jail in Henrico County, south of Richmond, Va., where his family's lawyer says he was "brutalized" by officers - including being pepper sprayed, stripped naked and deprived of his medications - before being transferred to Central State Hospital, a state-run mental facility in Dinwiddie County. Irvo Noel Otieno, 28, was taken into emergency custody on March 3 after experiencing mental health distress. Editor's note: This story includes detailed descriptions of violence.Ī Virginia prosecutor has charged seven law enforcement officers and three hospital employees with second-degree murder over the death of a Black man at a state psychiatric hospital last week. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |