The Virginia man accused of murdering seven deputies was in the midst of a mental health crisis, handcuffed, handcuffed and posing no threat to law enforcement officers, his family watched footage of the incident Thursday. said after.
“My son was treated like a dog, worse than a dog,” Carolyn Oko said Thursday. “She was murdered. They stopped my baby’s breathing. They murdered my baby.”
Seven Henrico County personnel have been charged with second-degree murder in the March 6 death of 28-year-old Ervo Otieno. Three hospital employees have also been charged in his death, the Commonwealth’s Dinwiddie County attorney’s office said Thursday.
The Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in court Wednesday that Otieno “died of suffocation to death, thanks to having at least seven people … on top of him and holding him down.”
On Thursday, Otieno’s family and lawyers were shown video of the events that took place while he was registered at the state hospital following his previous arrest.
Attorney Ben Crump told reporters, “What we just saw … was a commentary on how inhumane law enforcement officers treat people with mental health crises as criminals, rather than as people who need help.” Is.”
Mark Crudice, an attorney for Otieno’s family, said after viewing the footage that all seven representatives could be seen pushing down “every part of their bodies” with “absolute brutality”.
“I really wasn’t ready to see this,” Krudice said.
“You can see they’re putting their backs into it. Every part of his body is being pushed down with utter brutality. You can’t even see his image at times.
According to court documents, the four deputies weighed at least 250 pounds, with the heaviest weighing 320 pounds.
Crump said that “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 the exact same way.” The incident at the hospital lasted for 11 minutes, he said.
Prosecutors have said that Otieno was handcuffed and leg shackled when he was pinned to the ground by the deputies.
Otieno’s lawyers said they expect the Justice Department to investigate Otieno’s death
Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Allen Bramble, 37; Jermaine LaVar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Deese, 43; Tabitha Renee LaVere, 50; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48; The prosecutor’s office said, and 30-year-old Kayle Dajour Sanders was charged.
Disse’s attorney, Edward K. Nickell said Thursday that his client expects to defend himself against the allegations. “The charges were initiated by criminal information, a remarkably unusual way of initiating the paperwork for an arrest in Virginia,” he said. “However, the final charges, if any, that our client will face will be determined at the grand jury hearing next Tuesday.”
Carrie Bowen, who represents the branch, said her client has been with the department for 24 years.
“None of them are known to be bullies,” he has said.
Other representatives could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon and it was unclear whether they have attorneys who can speak for them.
Henrico police said in a statement that before his death, Otieno had been arrested and charged with assaulting Henrico police officers at Param Doctors Hospital on March 3 after responding to a possible burglary call.
The department said that Henrico police officers placed Otieno under an “emergency detention order”. According to Virginia law, such orders are used in cases of mental illness.
Henrico police said at the hospital, Otieno “became physically aggressive toward the officers who arrested him” and took him to a local jail, which is managed by the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office, where he was charged with multiple charges. Were.
The Henrico County Sheriff’s Office went to Central State Hospital at 3:58 p.m. on March 6 to admit Oteno as a patient, the prosecutor’s office said.
At approximately 7:30 the state police were called to investigate her death. Prosecutors have said that state police investigators were told that he had become aggressive during the break-in.
Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Gregory said the deputy has been placed on administrative leave.
Otieno was described by his family as a selfless person who was always concerned with fairness. His relatives said that he was also a hip-hop artist who wrote songs in five minutes.
The family has its roots in Kenya.
Leon Ochiang described his younger brother’s death as a “tragic, senseless, inhuman nightmare”.
Ochieng said, “Can someone explain to me why my brother is not here yet? Someone explain to me why my mother can’t sleep, can’t eat.” “We are broken. Our hearts are broken.”
