Irvo Otieno death: Virginia officers and hospital staff indicted hours after footage released

A grand jury of Virginia has indicted seven sheriffs’ deputies and three hospital staffers involved in the death of 28-year-old Irvo Otieno.

The indictments were made public soon after the release of surveillance footage showing several people holding him down and pinning him to the ground until he died.

Ten people charged with murder over the death of Virginia man at mental facility

The Washington Post obtained the video hours before it was set to be released to the public by Dinwiddie County prosecutor Ann Cabell Baskervill. The video shows officers from the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office dragging Otieno out of his room at Central State Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Virginia, on March 6. After handcuffing and shackling Otieno’s legs, the officers held him to the ground for nearly 11 minutes until he died, while three hospital staffers looked on without intervening. All 10 individuals involved faced second-degree murder charges, which were brought down by the grand jury on Tuesday.

The indicted deputies were identified as Kaivell Dajour Sanders, 30; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50; and Randy Joseph Boyer, 57.

Ann Cabell Baskervill stated, “There is video footage of exactly what happened, and he was not agitated and combative. He was held down on the ground, pinned on the ground for 12 minutes by all seven of our defendants charged here.”

Though defense lawyers filed a motion to block the release of the footage, Ann Cabell Baskervill announced the release to the public.

Three days prior to his shift to Central State Hospital, Otieno was taken to county jail after he had been struggling with mental health issues for some time. On March 3, he went to a neighbor’s lawn and took some solar-powered lights, prompting a police officer to arrest him under an emergency custody order. The officer then brought him to the hospital for further evaluation. Although Otieno’s family supported the decision, they asked the police to be gentle with him. However, the officers reported that Otieno became “physically assaultive towards officers,” leading them to charge him with disorderly conduct, three counts of assault, and vandalism. The sheriff’s deputies moved Otieno back to the hospital on March 6, and this is where the video footage begins.

The preliminary report from the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office stated that Otieno died due to asphyxiation.

“What I saw today was heartbreaking, America. It was disturbing. It was traumatic. My son was tortured,” Caroline Ouko, Otieno’s mother, said when she saw the footage last week.

Otieno’s family claims that he did not receive proper medication while in jail and denies that he was violent during his stay at the hospital.

Incidentally, this incident takes place close on the heels of the release of violent footage displaying the Memphis Police Department officers beating Tyre Nichols to death in Tennessee.