Seven Virginia sheriff’s deputies have been charged with murder in connection to the death of a 28-year-old man, Irvo Otieno, who was in custody at a state mental hospital.
The Henrico County Sheriff’s Office deputies transferred Otieno from a local jail to Central State Hospital, where he died on March 6.
According to Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill, Otieno died during the intake process after he was “physically restrained” when he became “combative.”
The prosecutor’s office said Otieno was “smothered” while in custody.
The seven deputies charged with second-degree murder were identified as Randy Joseph Boyer, Dwayne Alan Bramble, Jermaine Lavar Branch, Bradley Thomas Disse, Tabitha Renee Levere, Brandon Edwards Rodgers, and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders.
The suspects turned themselves in to state police on Tuesday and were placed on administrative leave during the ongoing investigation, according to Sheriff Alisa Gregory.
During a court hearing on Wednesday, Baskervill said video evidence showed the deputies throwing a shirtless and handcuffed Otieno to the ground, with one suspect placing a knee on his body.
She said his preliminary cause of death was asphyxiation due to being “smothered to death” by the seven deputies holding him down.
Video also captured deputies pepper-spraying and punching Otieno in jail before he was transported.
Baskervill added that the deputies did not call state police until three hours after Otieno’s death.
Otieno, who had been on medication to treat mental illness, was unable to take it while in custody, according to his family’s attorney, Mark Krudys.
The Henrico Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4 called the death tragic and said it was waiting for additional information.
The local police union said in a statement that “Policing in America today is difficult, made even more so by the possibility of being criminally charged while performing their duty.”
Virginia State Police are investigating the case, and the agency has obtained hospital security footage, but there are no immediate plans to release it, according to Corinne Geller, a Virginia State Police representative.
Meanwhile, a judge granted Branch a $15,000 bond and Disse a $10,000 bond. The five other deputies were being held until they arrange legal representation. The defendants are due back in court on Tuesday.