Irvo Otieno died at a mental health facility in Virginia last year, and five sheriff’s deputies were charged with murder. His family was incensed on Monday over the prosecutor’s choice.
A judge allowed a move made on Sunday by Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Attorney Amanda Mann to have the charges against five of the eight Henrico County sheriff’s deputies dropped.
“We did not endorse her plan. I don’t know what video others are looking at, but we all know what we saw. This is a solid case,” Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, told reporters on Monday following her meeting with Mann and she wanted the Justice Department to get involved.
“We hope that the Dinwiddie commonwealth attorney can do her job. And if she is not willing to prosecute, the DOJ, where are you? Where are you? The Department of Justice, where are you?” With her voice breaking, Ouko asked.
The deputies Randy Joseph Boyer, Dwayne Alan Bramble, Jermaine Lavar Branch, Bradley Thomas Disse, and Tabitha Renee Levere no longer face second-degree murder charges, however one hospital employee and two deputies still face them.
“We’re pleased that this prosecutor was willing to make a decision that was based on the law and the evidence rather than other factors,” attorney for Bramble Russ Stone stated.
Formally speaking, the requests to remove the charges are called “nolle prosequi,” which “means the commonwealth’s attorney can bring these cases back, but it is an agonizing wait,” according to family lawyer Mark Krudys. “We were going to begin less than a month from now, and now we have to begin in the fall.”
On March 6, 2023, Otieno passed away while receiving treatment at the Central State Hospital in Virginia after being arrested on suspicion of burglary.
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He was restrained by medical personnel and sheriff’s deputies, according to surveillance footage, when he “became physically assaultive towards officers.” In the footage, Otieno—who was handcuffed—sees ten individuals pile on top of him for more than ten minutes.
The next month, Otieno’s death was declared a homicide, with “positional and mechanical asphyxia with restraints” listed as the cause.
“He was restrained, they had him,” family’s attorney Benjamin Crump stated. “He wasn’t going anywhere. He was in the mental health hospital, for God’s sake. Why the need to put all this weight on top of him to the point of suffocating him to death?”
Otieno’s family settled for $8.5 million in September with Henrico County, the state, and the sheriff’s office; in return, the parties disclaimed any responsibility for Otieno’s demise.
