Video Shows Sheriff's Deputies Pile On VA Man Before His Death

DINWIDDIE, VA — In surveillance video from Central State Hospital that was obtained by the Washington Post before prosecutors released it Tuesday, as many as ten sheriff's deputies can be seen piling on top of 28-year-old Irvo Otieno in an encounter that proved deadly.

The footage shows the final minutes of Otieno's life on March 6, from the moment Henrico County sheriff’s officials dragged him into a hospital admissions room in handcuffs and leg irons to the several minutes during which he was restrained on the ground before his body went limp.

Seven Henrico County deputies were among 10 people charged with second-degree murder last week in Otieno's death as prosecutors said officers had no justification for putting Otieno, who was being checked in, on the floor.

Dinwiddie County Commonwealth's Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill said during the deputies' first court hearing Wednesday that Otieno did not appear combative and was sitting in a chair before being pulled to the floor by the officers, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Baskervill said that the "demonstration of power that was unlawful" began in the Henrico County Jail, where officers punched Otieno in his side and torso and at one point pepper-sprayed him while he sat in his cell alone, according to the newspaper and ABC News.

“My son was treated like a dog, worse than a dog,” Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, told reporters last week at a news conference with the family attorneys, according to the Post. “I saw it with my own eyes in the video. He was treated inhumanely, and it was traumatic, and it was systemic.”

According to a WTVR report, the deputies charged include:

• Randy Joseph Boyer, 57, of Henrico.
• Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37, of Sandston.
• Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45, of Henrico.
• Bradley Thomas Disse, 43, of Henrico.
• Tabitha Renee Levere, 50, of Henrico.
• Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48, of Henrico.
• Kaivell Dajour Sanders, 30, of North Chesterfield.

On Thursday, prosecutors announced that three hospital employees were charged with second-degree murder in connection with Otieno's death, according to a separate Times-Dispatch report. The employees were:

• Darian M. Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg.
• Wavie L. Jones, 34, of Chesterfield.
• Sadarius D. Williams, 27, of North Dinwiddie.

Otieno, who lived in Henrico County, first came into the custody of law enforcement on March 3, according to Henrico County Police.

In a news release, Henrico police said officers were responding to a burglary report when Otieno was approached as a potential suspect. After observing his behavior, Otieno was placed under an "emergency custody order" and taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Mark Krudys, a lawyer for Otieno's family, said a neighbor called police over concern about Otieno gathering lawn lights from a yard. Krudys said Otieno's mother tried to deescalate the initial police encounter and the family supported his being taken to a hospital, believing he needed mental health treatment.

While he was at the hospital, police said he "became physically assaultive toward officers, who arrested him" and took him to a local jail that is managed by the Henrico County Sheriff's Office, where he was served with several charges.

Otieno was taken to Central State Hospital on March 6, where he "became combative during the intake process," Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller said in a statement provided to WTVR.

Baskervill said Otieno's death was not reported for three and a half hours, and 911 was not alerted, according to ABC News.

Two of the 10 defendants, Branch and Disse, had been released on bond as of Monday afternoon, with the others scheduled for bond hearings Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Post.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.