The Root; Published By: Kalyn Womack
Updated as of 4/3/2023 at 3:00 p.m. ET
The Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the death of a Black mental health detainee as a homicide, per CBS Richmond.
Irvo Otieno was determined to die by positional and mechanical asphyxia with restraint, according to his official autopsy. Reports say Otieno was being transferred to a county jail to the hospital for a mental evaluation when six to seven deputies pinned him down on the ground in the lobby.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said he expected this outcome given the graphic display of the incident through surveillance footage.
“The official cause and manner of death is not surprising to us as it corroborates what the world witnessed in the video. In a chilling parallel to George Floyd’s killing, Irvo was held down and excessively restrained to death, when he should have been provided medical help and compassion. It is tragic that yet another life has been lost to this malicious and deadly restraint technique,” he said in a statement. Read more
