DINWIDDIE, Va. (WRIC) — New details concerning the death of Irvo Otieno were released as part of the Dinwiddie court appearances of the deputies and hospital staff charged with his murder.
Three of the 10 defendants in the case — Wavie Jones, Dwayne Bramble and Brandon Rogers — all appeared in court and applied for a continuance of the proceedings. They are expected to discuss the prosecutor’s motion to try all 10 defendants at once during the next hearing on Aug. 2, 2023.
ABC News attended the proceedings as Otieno’s family called for the Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney to file charges. While they have not issued a formal request for assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice, they said they are seeking assistance in this case.
“I am working with the Virginia State Police as they continue to collect and review evidence of what happened in Henrico County, and we will continue to work with the team of agents to review such evidence,” said Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney, Shannon Taylor.
The events that led to Otieno’s death
The family further revealed that following Otieno’s initial arrest at his mother’s home on March 3, he had been taken to Parham Doctors’ Hospital under an “8-hour emergency custody order.” Despite his request for an ambulance, Otieno was forced into a squad car.
The emergency custody order required Otieno to have an officer present with him for the entire 8-hour duration. Otieno’s mother, who was waiting for him at the hospital, wasn’t allowed to see him. It was during this time at the hospital that Otieno was reportedly charged with assaulting an officer and taken to jail.
While in the hospital, a temporary detention order (TDO) was ordered by a magistrate judge. According to the family attorneys, this TDO should have allowed Otieno to stay at the hospital — since a TDO must be administered at a medical facility, not a jail. However, the family claims that law enforcement told them the order was not served to Otieno while he was at the hospital.
“Clinicians that were seeing [Otieno] were concerned that he was a threat to himself,” said Mark Krudys, one of the family’s attorneys. “It appears to us, based upon the records — and we don’t have a complete record at this point — that they have an awareness that he needs to be hospitalized but, instead, they’re making calls to the hospitals for a place rather than having the TDO issued. And then you would have a mandate for hospitalized care.”
Krudys went on to say that, in jail, Otieno was placed in a five-point restraint chair and “held in that manner till at least the morning of [March 4] and potentially thereafter.” Krudys said that if Otieno had been held at the hospital things “could have been different.”
Under the TDO, Otieno was supposed to be checked every 10 mins. Krudys says it is unclear if that happened.
The aftermath
Following Otieno’s death, law enforcement huddled together before Virginia State Police arrived, according to Krudys.
“That should never have occurred,” Krudys said. “They should have been interviewed at length and the Virginia State Police should have been called immediately. Whenever you have a death in the context of law enforcement, you have to bring in other law enforcement to deal with it.”
On May 9 — 60 days after Otieno’s death — the family says they will be formally appointing Otieno’s brother, Leon, as the administrator of his estate. This will reportedly allow the family to release additional documents and videos.
