Local News In Virginia: A Virginian Family Seeks Justice For Civil Rights Violation for their Family member who died in A State Metal Hospital

The co-hosts of The Five talk about Antifa protestors in Atlanta asking for a “night of wrath” after police allegedly killed a man for allegedly firing at a state trooper without provocation. The’ family of Irvo Otieno, 28, who died after getting handcuffed, shackled, and pinned to the ground by deputies at a state mental hospital, called on the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the matter. Ten people have been charged with second-degree murder in the death, including seven Henrico County sheriff’s deputies and three people employed by the hospital.

At a news conference in Dinwiddie, Virginia, on March 16, 2023, Caroline Ouko, the mother of Irvo Otieno, is seen holding a portrait of her son beside lawyers Ben Crump, on the left, Leon Ochieng, on the right, and Mark Krudys. The family has asked higher courts to become involved in the case because they believe Otieno’s civil rights have been infringed. Including George Floyd, Crump has recently been involved in some of the most well-known cases concerning black people who have died while in the police’s custody.

On May 17, 2018, seven deputies were charged with second-degree murder after a black man died at the Central State Hospital in Virginia. Mark Krudys, an attorney representing Otieno’s family, said the seven deputies were seen on video pushing Otieno to the ground while he was cuffed and had his legs restrained. Otieno was an aspiring musician who was smothered to death by hospital staff, leading to additional charges against the hospital employees (Wehner, 2023).