Seven Virginia sheriff’s deputies have been charged with murder in the death of a man who had been arrested and was physically restrained while being admitted to a hospital this month, authorities said.
The seven Henrico County deputies are charged with second-degree murder in the March 6 death of Irvo Otieno, 28, the Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement Tuesday.
The prosecutor’s office said that Otieno was to be admitted to a hospital, that he was physically restrained and that he died during the intake process.
“He died of asphyxia due to being smothered to death, thanks to having at least seven people, including the defendant, on top of him and holding him down,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill said at a court hearing Wednesday, according to courtroom video broadcast by NBC affiliate WWBT of Richmond.
The medical examiner’s office in Richmond did not immediately respond to a request for comment after business hours Wednesday about a cause and manner of death.
The Henrico County Sheriff’s Office went to Central State Hospital at 3:58 p.m. to admit Otieno as a patient, the prosecutor’s office said.
State investigators “were told he had become combative during the admission process. Otieno, who was physically restrained, died during the intake process,” the prosecutor’s office said.
An attorney for Otieno’s family said he was treated brutally.
“The family is truly grief-stricken after learning of the brutal nature of Irvo’s death and his inhumane treatment in the hours preceding his death,” Mark Krudys said. “The public, and experienced mental health professionals alike, will be appalled when the facts of this case are fully made known.”
Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48; and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30, were charged, the prosecutor’s office said.
Not all of the deputies who were…
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