Family: Video of man's death shows `absolute brutality'

DINWIDDIE, VA. >> Video from a state mental hospital shows a Black Virginia man who was handcuffed and shackled being pinned to the ground by deputies who are now facing seconddegree murder charges in his death, according to relatives of the man and their attorneys who viewed the footage Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference shortly after watching the video, the family and attorneys condemned the brutal treatment they said Irvo Otieno, 28, was subjected to, first at a local jail and then at the state hospital where he died March 6. They called on the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the case, saying Otieno's constitutional rights were clearly violated.

Otieno's case marks the latest example of a Black man's in-custody death that has law enforcement under scrutiny. It follows the the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, and the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.

Ben Crump, who represented Floyd's family and is now working with Otieno's, quickly drew a comparison at the news conference.

“It is truly shocking that nearly three years after the brutal killing of George Floyd by police, another family is grieving a loved one who allegedly died in nearly the exact same manner — being pinned down by police for 12 agonizing minutes,” Crump said.

Mark Krudys, another attorney for Otieno's family, described how all seven of the deputies pushed down “every part of his body” with “absolute brutality,” stressing that Otieno was in handcuffs and leg irons.

“You can see that they're putting their back into it. Every part of his body is being pushed down with absolute brutality. You cannot even see his image many times.”