CNN
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Surveillance video launched by a prosecutor Tuesday shows Irvo Otieno being pinned to the floor by a number of safety officers at a Virginia state psychological well being facility in the moments main up to his death earlier this month.
The video affords additional particulars of the closing moments of Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man who died March 6 as he was transferred from a Henrico County jail to Central State Hospital, in accordance to Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill.
Seven sheriff’s deputies and three hospital employees have been charged with second-degree homicide. In a listening to final week for the expenses towards the deputies, Baskerville instructed the court docket, “They smothered him to death.”
The video begins as Otieno, certain by his arms and ft, is forcibly taken right into a room and dragged into an upright seated place on the floor with his again towards a chair. Ten minutes later, after Otieno has turned onto his facet with three folks holding him, his physique jerks, and 5 extra deputies and staff transfer to pin Otieno to the floor.
A transparent view of Otieno is blocked in a lot of the video, however one deputy seems to be mendacity throughout Otieno for many of the incident as he’s pressured onto his abdomen. Eventually Otieno is rolled onto his again, the place a number of deputies seem to be restraining him with their knees. One deputy holds Otieno’s head nonetheless by grabbing his braided hair. The recording doesn’t embrace audio.
After 12 minutes of Otieno being pinned to the floor, one deputy will be seen shaking Otieno’s hair and trying to take a neck pulse. Otieno is unresponsive. Three extra minutes cross before CPR begins, with Otieno’s limbs nonetheless shackled.
Medical staff from the hospital are seen converging on the room as CPR continues for practically an hour. After he’s pronounced lifeless, Otieno is roofed in a white sheet, nonetheless mendacity on the floor, his physique briefly left alone in the room.
The time stamp on the video shows Otieno’s physique being lined at 5:48 p.m.
Baskervill initially declined to launch the video however modified course after Otieno’s household accredited.
Otieno’s household and their attorneys watched the video final week and mentioned they have been disturbed by how Otieno was handled throughout a psychological well being disaster.
“My son was treated like a dog, worse than a dog,” Otieno’s mom, Caroline Ouko, mentioned at a information convention. “I saw it with my own eyes on the video.”
Civil rights legal professional Ben Crump, who’s representing the household, in contrast the video to that of the murder of George Floyd, who was handcuffed, pressured to the floor and held down by Minneapolis cops in May 2020. That case sparked nationwide protests over police use of power, particularly towards folks of colour.
The video is a “commentary on how inhumane law enforcement officials treat people who are having a mental health crisis as criminals rather than treating them as people who are in need of help,” he mentioned.
Otieno’s household is initially from Kenya, and Irvo got here to the US at age 4, household legal professional Mark Krudys instructed CNN.
He graduated in 2012 from Douglas S. Freeman High School, the place – in accordance to the Richmond Times-Dispatch – he performed soccer and basketball, and he attended faculty in California. Otieno additionally had a passion for music and was working to turn into a hip-hop artist, his household mentioned.
Yet he additionally struggled with psychological sickness, his household mentioned. Ouko mentioned her son had lengthy stretches the place “(you) wouldn’t even know something was wrong,” after which there have been instances when “he would go into some kind of distress and then you know he needs to see a doctor.”
On March 3, Henrico Police responded to a report of a attainable housebreaking and encountered Otieno, police mentioned in a information launch. Police officers – together with the county’s disaster intervention workforce – put him below an emergency custody order due to their interactions with and observations of him, police mentioned.
According to Virginia law, an individual will be positioned below an emergency custody order when there may be purpose to consider they might harm themselves or others on account of psychological sickness.
Krudys mentioned Otieno was experiencing a psychological well being disaster on March 3, and his mom was at the scene and implored police not to be aggressive with him. Henrico Police officers ultimately positioned Otieno into custody with out additional incident, Krudys mentioned.
Otieno was taken for analysis to a hospital, the place he grew to become “physically assaultive towards officers,” police mentioned. He was held on three counts of assault on a legislation enforcement officer, disorderly conduct in a hospital and vandalism, police mentioned.
Otieno was then transferred to the Henrico County Jail West.
At round Four p.m. on March 6, Otieno was taken to be admitted to Central State Hospital, a state-run psychological well being facility south of Richmond, by the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office, in accordance to the commonwealth legal professional’s workplace. It’s not clear why deputies transferred Otieno.
State police investigators have been later instructed Otieno grew to become “combative” and was “physically restrained” throughout the consumption course of, the legal professional’s workplace mentioned in a press release on March 14. He died at the hospital, the workplace mentioned.
The video was key to the 10 folks being charged with second-degree homicide, Baskervill, the prosecutor mentioned.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” mentioned Baskervill, referring to video exhibiting his death.
Otieno was held on the floor in handcuffs and leg irons for 12 minutes, Baskervill mentioned. She characterised his habits throughout that point as “being distressed, rather than assaultive, combative.”
Seven Henrico County deputies, who turned themselves in to state police final week, are on administrative depart as investigations by their company and state police proceed, Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Gregory mentioned in a press release.
CNN has sought remark from the deputies. Caleb Kershner, the legal professional for deputy Randy Joseph Boyer, instructed CNN final week they’d but to see video however claimed “nothing was outside of the ordinary” in the lead up to his death.
“They delivered him as fast as they could because obviously this was a man in tremendous need of some sort of medical attention,” Kershner mentioned. He added that his shopper famous they’d handled Otieno “for a long time and he had a significant amount of violent noncompliance.”
Peter B. Baruch, an legal professional for deputy Bradley Thomas Disse, mentioned he “is looking forward to his opportunity to try this case and for the full truth to be shared in court and being vindicated.”
Three Central State Hospital staff who were arrested last week have been positioned on depart “pending the results of the legal proceedings,” the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and Central State Hospital mentioned in a press release.
They have been anticipated to seem in court docket Tuesday before a grand jury, in accordance to on-line court docket information. It was not clear if they’ve attorneys.
The Henrico Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4, the native legislation enforcement officers’ union, “stands behind” the deputies, it mentioned in a press release on Facebook.
“Policing in America today is difficult, made even more so by the possibility of being criminally charged while performing their duty,” the group mentioned. “The death of Mr. Otieno was tragic, and we express our condolences to his family. We also stand behind the seven accused deputies now charged with murder by the Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Baskervill.”