Irvo Otieno death: Medical examiner says cause of death is homicide
Rachel Schilke
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A medical examiner ruled the death of Irvo Otieno to be a homicide. It’s the latest development in an incident involving sheriff‘s deputies and hospital staff at a Virginia hospital.
Otieno, 28, died on March 6 after deputies from the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office dragged him out of his room and pinned him to the ground in the Central State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Virginia. Police pushed him to the ground and piled on top of him for nearly 11 minutes. Hospital staffers looked on without interfering.
IRVO OTIENO DEATH: VIRGINIA OFFICERS AND HOSPITAL STAFF INDICTED HOURS AFTER FOOTAGE RELEASED
In a preliminary report, the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Otieno’s cause of death was asphyxiation. On Monday, the office released a final report indicating that the official cause of death is “positional and mechanical asphyxia with restraints.” The official manner of death is “homicide.”
Attorney Ben Crump, a well-known civil rights lawyer and personal attorney for the Otieno family, released a statement with co-counsel Mark Krudys following the ruling.
“The official cause and manner of death is not surprising to us as it corroborates what the world witnessed in the video,” Crump and Krudys said. “In a chilling parallel to George Floyd’s killing, Irvo was held down and excessively restrained to death, when he should have been provided medical help and compassion. It is tragic that yet another life has been lost to this malicious and deadly restraint technique.”
Otieno struggled with mental health for a long period of time and had been taken from his home to a county jail three days earlier. He was taken after a neighbor reported him entering her yard and taking solar-paneled lights out of the ground. He was taken to a hospital for further evaluation on March 3 and was eventually taken to Henrico County Jail.
On March 6, officers brought Otieno to the hospital and were later seen dragging him on the floor and pinning his arms and legs. They remained on top of him until Otieno died.
Seven sheriff’s deputies and three hospital staff were charged by Dinwiddie County Prosecutor Ann Cabell Baskervill with second-degree murder on March 21, and the grand jury brought the indictment down on March 20.
The deputies were identified as Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50; and Randy Joseph Boyer, 57.
Charges came down following the release of the surveillance footage depicting the deputies’ use of force against Otieno. Baskervill announced she would release the video to the public despite defense attorneys filing motions to block its release.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“What I saw today was heartbreaking, America. It was disturbing. It was traumatic. My son was tortured,” Caroline Ouko, Otieno’s mother, said of the footage.
The incident comes months after graphic and violent video footage was released showing the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis Police Department officers in Tennessee.