Irvo Otieno's mother speaks out about his death at hospital: 'My son was tortured.'

Irvo Otieno's mother and his brother, flanked by supporters and their lawyers, choking back on their emotion, detailed what they saw on surveillance video as Otieno was assaulted at the Henrico jail and then later at Central State Hospital after he was taken into custody on March 3, and then his death about 72 hours later. 

“It was torture. My son was tortured," said Caroline Ouko, Otieno's mother, at a news conference outside the Dinwiddie County's prosecutor's office. 

"Those three days at the jail were horrific. I’ve seen it in the video. Mental illness should not be your ticket to death. There was a chance to rescue him…..and I don’t understand how all systems failed him. My son was treated like a dog. Worse than a dog. I seen it with my own eyes in the video. He was treated in humanely and it was traumatic. And it was systematic."

Otieno died last week in the custody of Henrico County sheriff's deputies while being admitted to Central State Hospital.  His family has criticized his being treated as a criminal rather than a mentally ill patient. 

“Words can’t describe what I just saw today," said Otieno's brother, Leon Ochieng.  “What I saw was a lifeless human being … with no regard for his human life.”

“I witnessed a homicide," he added. "I did not think in my lifetime I’d witness my own blood brother being murdered.”

The family and their legal team portrayed a gruesome scene of Otieno being beaten at the jail while naked and then later at the hospital as sheriff deputies piled on top of him -- even though Otieno posed no threat and was not combative -- while other officers watched on but did nothing. 

"What we just viewed on the videos was a commentary on how inhuman 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. I mean it was inhumane to see how they treated Irvo,” said Ben Crump, the nationally recognized civil rights attorney who joined Otieno's attorney Mark Krudys on Wednesday.   

“In the videos … he was never confrontational with them, he is not posing a threat," Crump said.

"He needed mental health help, he needed help from physicians - not the brutality of correctional officers," Krudys said.

3 additional murder charges filed

In describing was on the video, Krudys described how Otieno was taken from the jail to Central State.  "He's carried out by the arms and legs, almost upside down...they carry him like an animal into the vehicle. He's almost lifeless. Then he's transported to eventually Central State Hospital. Lights and sirens. Why? If there really was an important medical event that was occurring....why wasn't he taken to the hospital, literally one minute away."

Krudys said the footage of Otieno at the hospital was unsettling.

"I was not really prepared so see this -- it was a circumstance where you see seven deputies.. And the force of them, you can see they're putting their back into it. Every part of [Otieno's] his body is being pushed down with absolute brutality. You cannot even see his image all the time."

Krudys said he and Crump looked at each as the video played.  "And we kept on saying ... why? Why is this occurring? He's in handcuffs and leg irons at that point. He poses no danger."

As the family addressed the media, their supporters cried out several times, "Justice for Irvo" as the lawyers called for federal investigations. 

The family spoke to the media just after the prosecutor's office announced that three more people have been charged in Otieno's death. They have been identified as employees of Central State Hospital: Darian M. Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg; Wavie L. Jones, 34, of Chesterfield County; and Sadarius D. Williams, 27, of North Dinwiddle.  

All three, who surrendered to authorities Thursday morning, were charged with second-degree murder.  

Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill said, in announcing the charges, said, “A key element of that evidence is the surveillance video from Central State Hospital that captures the intake process. To maintain the integrity of the criminal justice process at this point, I am not able to publicly release the video." 

Both Crump and Krudys said that the issue of law enforcement dealing with the mentally ill is a national issue, but is even more dire for the Black community and that the mix of race and psychiatric problems is a "death sentence" for Blacks.  

"He needed mental health help, he needed help from physicians - not the brutality of correctional officers," Krudys said.

Crump also expressed shock that after the death of George Floyd has not changed how some law enforcement treat people in custody.  "It is truly shocking that nearly three years after the brutal killing of George Floyd by police, another family is grieving a loved one who allegedly died in nearly the same exact manner - being pinned down by police for 12 agonizing minutes," he said in a statement earlier in the day.

In total, 10 have now been charged in Otieno's death.  

Seven Henrico sheriff's deputies were charged on Tuesday with second-degree murder in the March 6 death of Otieno, who died of asphyxiation, according to the state medical examiner's preliminary cause of death.

Otieno held down for 12 minutes, prosecutor says

During court hearings Tuesday for the seven accused deputies who were first charged in the case, Baskervill said, the officers held down Otieno for 12 minutes while he was shackled and handcuffed, eventually "smothering him to death." She said he was asphyxiated from the weight of the officers laying on top of him, which included knees that were pressed "fiercely" into parts of his body.

On Tuesday, two of the deputies were freed on $15,000 and $10,000 bonds, respectively, after their attorneys successfully argued for their release.

Three others were appointed attorneys by Dinwiddie Circuit Court Judge Joseph M. Teefey Jr. after he questioned them about their finances and determined they could not afford to hire counsel. Two other deputies indicated they were in the process of hiring attorneys.

Because the case has unfolded publicly in recent days, the deputies have not yet had an opportunity through attorneys to present their view of what transpired at Central State Hospital. The attorneys for the deputies who were granted bond cited their clients' unblemished records and years of experience and service.

Attorney Edward Nickel, who is representing Deputy Bradley Disse, told the court that his client has been employed 20 years with the Sheriff's Office and has an exemplary record. Nickel said Disse received an exemplary service award a week before the Central State Hospital incident.

Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor issued a statement in conjunction with Henrico Sheriff’s deputies.

“I want to assure the public that I am conducting a review of what happened in the Henrico jail on March 6, 2023, including studying the video evidence," the statement said. 

"This will be a thorough and comprehensive investigation of what occurred, and I will be releasing my findings upon its completion. I understand and share the public’s concerns and will do whatever I can to determine what occurred and how.”