'Irvo's life gives me purpose' - family of Black man who died at mental hospital call for mental health reform

Record ID: 1717791

  • Title: 'Irvo's life gives me purpose' - family of Black man who died at mental hospital call for mental health reform
  • Date: 29th March 2023
  • Summary: SHARPTON SEEN AS HE WALKS DOWN THE AISLE FLOWERS BEING CARRIED OUT OF THE CHURCH WIDE OF CHURCH
  • Embargoed: 12th April 2023 21:26
  • Keywords: Irvo Otieno funeral hospital mental health
  • Location: CHESTERFIELD, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: CHESTERFIELD, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA002129829032023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Civil rights activists and family members bid farewell to Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man who died at a state mental health hospital earlier this month.
    "When I took my son to the hospital, this is not what I envisioned. I didn't think my son was not coming home. But son. this is where we are. And I'm sorry," Otieno's mother, Caroline Oukp, told mourners gathered at the First Baptist Church in Chesterfield, Virginia.
    Video surveillance showed Virginia sheriff deputies and medical staffers wrestled with a handcuffed Irvo Otieno for several minutes at a state mental hospital before he died, video surveillance shows.
    The altercation took place on March 6 as Otieno was being admitted to Central State Hospital in Petersburg, Virginia, according to Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill.
    "Irvo's family called you because he had a problem. But I've come to Virginia today to ask, what's your problem? I mean, what kind of sickness would make men pile on a man that's already handcuffed and shackled?" said Rev. Al Sharpton.
    Otieno's death, which has captured national attention, is the latest example of a Black man dying during a violent encounter with law enforcement.
    "Less than three years after George Floyd, why would any law enforcement officer put their knees on a man who is restrained and face down?" said attorney Ben Crump.
    Police have arrested and charged three former employees of the mental health hospital and seven sheriffs deputies of Henrico County, Virginia, with second-degree murder in Otieno's death. Most of the deputies and hospital employees involved in the case are also Black. A grand jury on Tuesday formally indicted the ten people charged.
    The video, a download link of which was made available in court documents, shows about six officers carrying Otieno into a room. He appeared to struggle as he was put on the ground. At times as many as 10 deputies and hospital workers held him down while his legs were shackled and his arms were held behind his back. Another six deputies and medical staffers were in the room watching the encounter.
    Later the video shows Otieno slumped over and motionless. Officers turned him over and began chest compressions. They brought in a defibrillator machine and attempted to revive him. When it is clear Otieno was dead, a lone healthcare worker draped a white sheet over his lifeless body.
    "You are not here physically with us, but we who remain... we will get to the bottom of what happened to you," Caroline Ouko said, ending her speech to loud applause.
    (Production: Gershon Peaks, Pavithra George)
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