2 months ago
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Irvo Otieno's household said they were near "broken" aft watching a video of their loved one's death.
"My lad was treated similar a dog. Worse than a dog," Otieno's mother, Caroline Ouko, said during a property league this week.
"What I saw, I witnessed a homicide," Otieno's member Leon Ochieng said.
Otieno's parent and member spoke minutes aft they watched 2 videos astatine the Dinwiddie County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.
The archetypal video showed Otieno astatine the Henrico County jailhouse connected March 6. The 2nd showed Otieno wrong Central State Hospital.
"What I saw contiguous was heartbreaking," Ouko said.
The family's lawyers, Mark Krudys and Ben Crump, described what they said the videos showed.
At the Henrico Jail, they said Otieno was bare successful his compartment with feces connected the ground. They said helium was handcuffed erstwhile 5 Henrico deputies rushed into the compartment and carried him out.
"He was carried astir by his arms and legs into a conveyance similar an animal," Krudys said.
Sheriff's deputies charged with Virginia man's death
Authorities primitively said determination were "no issues with immoderate of their actions" aft Irvo Otieno died successful their custody.
Once wrong Central State, a state-run psychiatric hospital, the attorneys said Otieno was seated successful a seat with handcuffs and limb restraints and was not resisting.
They said deputies pushed him to the crushed wherever helium laic face-down. Seven deputies and 3 Central State employees, each present charged with second-degree murder, past pushed down connected him with force, they said.
The attorneys said astatine slightest 2 deputies enactment their knees connected Otieno's neck.
They said the incidental lasted 11 minutes.
"Why successful the aftermath of George Floyd would you enactment a genu connected a neck?" Crump asked.
Otieno's parent and member privation to cognize why, particularly erstwhile the Henrico Police officers who primitively took Otieno to Henrico Doctors' Hospital connected March 3, knew helium was experiencing a intelligence wellness crisis.
"The doc said helium was caring for him and helium would beryllium OK," Ouko said.
But it was determination that Henrico Police decided to complaint Otieno with assaulting an officer, disorderly behaviour successful a infirmary and vandalism.
Otieno's household does not cognize why.
Henrico Police had stated Otieno was "physically assaultive" toward officers.
"I don’t recognize however each systems failed him," Ouko said.
"At what constituent bash we see intelligence unwellness a crime?" Ochieng asked.
They said they present hoped for justness for Otieno and changes to what they called a breached system.
They are besides calling for the videos to beryllium released to the public.
This communicative was primitively reported by Scripps News Richmond.
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