Prosecutors plan to release the video next week that led Virginia authorities to charge seven officers and three employees at the state psychiatric hospital with second-degree murder in the death of a handcuffed and shackled man.
DINWIDDIE, Va. — Prosecutors plan to release the video next week that led Virginia authorities to charge seven officers and three employees at the state psychiatric hospital with second-degree murder in the death of a handcuffed and shackled man.
Irvo Otieno’s family viewed video of his death on Thursday. With his blessing, the images will be released to the public in the coming days, Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Family attorneys described the video to reporters as an agonizing 12 minutes of officers pushing and choking Otineo, a black man whose arms and legs were restrained.
“You can see they’re putting their back on this. Every part of her body is being pushed down with absolute brutality,” said family attorney Mark Krudys.
Prosecutors said the 28-year-old Otieno did not appear combative and was sitting in a chair when officers tackled him to the ground.
The 12-minute video also showed the lack of urgency to help Otieno after officers determined “he was lifeless and not breathing,” Krudys said.
So far, ten people have been charged with second-degree murder in Otieno’s death: seven Henrico County sheriff’s deputies and three hospital employees.
Lawyers for the people arrested have not yet seen the video.
“They show the video to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. But we are representing these people accused of murder who are locked up. It’s really disappointing. It seems like it’s more important to curry favor with the public, to deal with the case in the media, rather than to let the criminal justice process work the way it’s supposed to work,” defense attorney Peter Baruch told the Richmond newspaper.
Otieno’s case marks the latest example of the death in custody of a black man who has law enforcement under scrutiny. It follows the fatal beating of Tire Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this year and comes nearly three years after the murder of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
Otieno, who was a child when his family immigrated from Kenya and grew up in suburban Richmond, had a history of mental health problems and was experiencing mental anguish at the time of his initial encounter with police earlier this month, his family and their lawyers. saying.
That set off a chain of events that led to him spending several days in custody before authorities said he died on March 6 while he was admitted to Central State Hospital south of Richmond.
