Murder charges against five sheriff’s deputies in the death of Irvo Otieno at a Virginia mental health facility last year have been dropped as his family blasted the prosecutor and urged the Justice Department to “bring your boots to Richmond and stand for Irvo.” Photo courtesy of Ben Crump Law
May 6 (UPI) — Murder charges against five sheriff’s deputies in the death of Irvo Otieno at a Virginia mental health hospital last year have been dropped as his family expressed outrage Monday over the prosecutor’s decision.
Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Attorney Amanda Mann filed a motion Sunday to withdraw the charges against five of the eight Henrico County sheriff’s deputies, which a judge granted.
“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,” Caroline Ouko, Otieno’s mother, told reporters Monday after meeting with Mann, as she urged the Justice Department to intervene.
“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?” Ouko asked as her voice broke.
“It is time. It is time for you to bring your boots to Richmond and stand for Irvo. And get justice for my son.”
While charges remain against two deputies and one hospital employee, second-degree murder charges against deputies Randy Joseph Boyer, Dwayne Alan Bramble, Jermaine Lavar Branch, Bradley Thomas Disse and Tabitha Renee Levere have been dropped.
“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,” said Russ Stone, attorney for Bramble.
The motions to drop the charges are formally known as “nolle prosequi,” which “means the commonwealth’s attorney can bring these cases back, but it is an agonizing wait,” said family attorney Mark Krudys. “We were going to begin less than a month from now, and now we have to begin in the fall.”
Otieno died March 6, 2023, as he was being admitted to the Central State Hospital in Virginia for treatment following his arrest for alleged burglary. Surveillance video shows sheriff’s deputies and medical staff restraining him after he “became physically assaultive towards officers.” The video shows 10 people piling on top of Otieno, who was handcuffed, for more than 10 minutes.
Otieno’s death was ruled a homicide the following month, with the cause being “positional and mechanical asphyxia with restraints.”
“He was restrained, they had him,” said the family’s attorney Benjamin Crump. “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?”
In September, Otieno’s family reached an $8.5 million settlement with Henrico county, the state and the sheriff’s office which in exchange denied any liability in Otieno’s death.
