Irvo Otieno death: Funeral held amid outrage over his death while in police custody
HENRICO, VIRGINIA: Irvo Otieno’s family, friends, and civil rights leaders mourned his death as they gathered in Chesterfield, Virginia, for his funeral. The Black man died in police custody while he was being transported from Henrico County Jail to Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County. The grand jury indicted seven Henrico County deputies and three hospital employees on second-degree murder charges in connection to Otieno’s death.
The 28-year-old died after they piled on top of him for more than 10 minutes. The funeral is being held at the First Baptist Church in Chesterfield featuring calls for justice by civil rights attorney and Otieno’s family legal representative Ben Crump. It also included a eulogy reading from Reverend Al Sharpton, the founder, and president of the civil rights group the National Action Network (NAN). The young man died on March 6 after a neighbor called the police on him during what his mother Caroline Ouko referred to as a mental health emergency.
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'Literally squeeze the breath out of my child'
“To see nine men and a woman, squeeze– literally squeeze the breath out of my child was heartbreaking. I could not believe that human beings can be desensitized to do that to another human being,” Ouko told ABC News in an interview since the incident was captured by a surveillance camera. Cary Bowen, a lawyer representing Deputy Jermaine Lavar Branch, said in the court that the officer "did not administer any blows to the deceased, or violence towards him, other than simply trying to restrain him."
He further said via phone that Cabell Baskervill is trying to ‘fashion the case as something that is malicious.’ Bowen said, "There was no weapon used. There was no pummeling or anything like that. I think everybody agrees. And the way she was casting it was that they ended up suffocating. He couldn't breathe. And she's acting like the man didn't resist and he wasn't manic or bipolar or whatever. Just a nice guy who they're picking on."
'What they did to my son was awful'
Meanwhile, the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office is carrying out an independent review of the incident alongside an investigation by Virginia State Police. “What they did to my son was awful. This heinous murder of my son was not necessary. And I want them to know that justice will be served. And if there is anyone out there who played a part along the line in my son’s murder, let them not think that this indictment absolves them.”