(DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va.) — Prosecutors released video on Tuesday of the March 6 chain of events that ended with the death of Irvo Otieno at Virginia’s Central State Hospital.
The video shows sheriff’s deputies and medical staff at the hospital carrying a handcuffed Otieno into a room and placing him on the floor. Otieno is forcibly held down for nearly 11 minutes until he stops moving, according to the video. The Washington Post published video of the encounter on Monday.
In an interview with ABC News, Otieno’s mother Caroline Ouka wondered why no one stepped in to stop them.
“To see nine men and a woman, squeeze– literally squeeze the breath out of my child was heartbreaking,” Ouka said. “I could not believe that human beings can be desensitized to do that to another human being.”
Cabell Baskervill, Dinwiddie County’s Commonwealth attorney, said the incident began in the Henrico County Jail, where Otieno was allegedly punched by officers in his side and torso. She alleged that Otieno was pepper-sprayed while he sat in his cell alone.
Otieno was later transported to Central State Hospital, a state-run inpatient psychiatric facility.
“State Police investigators were told he had become combative during the admission process” at Central State, Baskervill said.
She has pushed back against officers’ claims that Otieno was combative, saying video footage shows that Otieno “was not agitated and combative” but fidgety, stressed and anxious. Baskervill also alleged that seven Virginia sheriff’s deputies then held 28-year-old Otieno down for 12 minutes and suffocated him.
He died of asphyxiation by smothering, according to Baskervill, who described the incident as “cruel and a demonstration of power that is unlawful … it killed him.”
She remembers him as “a loving person,” who was “smart” and “bright.”
“I miss his hugs. … I miss touching him,” she said. “I miss seeing him. I miss talking to him. I miss just being there for all of us. … Our life was perfect. They didn’t have to do this. They didn’t have to take him away from us.”
Baskervill said Otieno’s death was not reported for three-and-a-half hours and 911 was not alerted.
Between Otieno’s death and the call made to state police, Otieno’s body was moved, handcuffs were removed and washed and a funeral home had been called instead of the medical examiner’s office, the commonwealth’s attorney said in court.
At some point, an injection was given to Otieno by hospital staff. Baskervill asserted the injection was likely given after he had died of asphyxia.
Baskervill said none of the seven deputies “made truthful statements to the State Police either that night or yesterday upon arrest.”
Seven Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies and three Central State Hospital employees have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Additional charges and arrests are pending, according to the commonwealth’s attorney.
Footage from Central State and Henrico County Jail captured the incidents. ABC News has not viewed the video.
The Henrico County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an independent review of Otieno’s death alongside an investigation by Virginia State Police.
The FBI is now in touch with state and local investigators.
“FBI Richmond has been in contact with authorities investigating the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Mr. Irvo Otieno. We have no further comments to share at this time,” read a statement shared with ABC News from an FBI spokesperson.
The seven arrested deputies were identified as 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.
Lawyers for Disse said that the officer was asked by a supervisor to drive to Central State Hospital because of issues officers were having with the inmate and because they were told he could not be controlled with just three officers.
In court, a lawyer for Branch alleged the officer “did not administer any blows to the deceased, or violence towards him, other than simply trying to restrain him.”
Branch’s lawyer, Cary Bowen, told ABC News by phone that Baskervill was trying to fashion the case as something that is “malicious.”
“There was no weapon used. There was no pummeling or anything like that. I think everybody agrees,” Bowen said. “And the way she was casting it was that they ended up suffocating. He couldn’t breathe. And she’s acting like the guy didn’t resist and he wasn’t manic or bipolar or whatever. Just a nice guy who they’re picking on.”
The seven deputies have been placed on administrative leave.
Henrico County Sheriff Alisa A. Gregory released a statement the week after Otieno’s death, extending her “deepest sympathies and condolences” to Otieno’s family and friends.
“The events of March 6, at their core, represent a tragedy because Mr. Otieno’s life was lost. This loss is felt by not only those close to him, but our entire community,” Gregory said in the statement.
Otieno’s family saw the footage before the video was set to be released to the public.
“My son was treated like a dog, worse than a dog. I saw it with my own eyes on the video,” said Ouko in a past press conference.
The Sheriff’s Department and local union Henrico Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 4 have yet to return ABC News’ request for comment.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab, Beatrice Peterson, Nakylah Carter and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
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