A harrowing video showing the death of a black man who was crushed under a dozen police officers and caregivers while he was admitted to a mental hospital was released Tuesday in the United States.
The March 6 death of Irvo Otieno in the state of Virginia reignited debate over how US law enforcement treats people with mental illness.
Seven mostly African American police officers from Henrico County and three officers from the Central State Hospital in Petersburg were charged with murder last week.
Local prosecutor Ann Cabell Baskervill had stated that the young man had died “by asphyxiation” at the age of 28 while being “physically restrained”, without giving further details.
Video of the tragedy, caught by surveillance cameras and released by multiple media outlets on Tuesday, shows his arrival at the hospital after three days in a cell. Handcuffed, ankles tied, shirtless and shoeless, he stoops in front, being dragged by agents.
He is first placed on the floor, with his back against a chair. A few minutes later, this young man with an imposing stature is pulled down by several agents – three at the beginning of the scene, up to 10 at the end – who block his view.
They appear to want to immobilize him so that he straps his legs and presses on various parts of his body, particularly his stomach, for at least 11 minutes. When they release their pressure, Irvo Otieno is unconscious and pulseless. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
The video had previously been shown to Irvo Otieno’s family, who requested it be broadcast.
“Even though my son was in the middle of a mental illness, what I saw was heartbreaking,” his mother, Caroline Ouko, said at a news conference on Thursday. “They choked my baby,” “they treated him like a dog, worse than a dog,” she added.
Family attorney Ben Crump drew a parallel with the murder of George Floyd, a black man in his 40s, who died in 2020 and was choked to death by a white Minneapolis police officer. The video of his ordeal that went around the world triggered a huge mobilization against racism and police violence.