Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Irvo Otieno was killed by a group of sheriff’s deputies and medical staff at Central State Hospital in Henrico County, Virginia, while suffering a mental health crisis. BOSSIP reported on the case almost one year ago to the day as all 10 people involved were charged with second-degree murder. Unfortunately, the latest update in the case isn’t what any of us, the Otieno family especially, wanted to hear.
According to AP News, Judge Joseph Teefy of Dinwiddie Circuit Court agreed to drop the criminal charges that were pending against five of the 10 accused parties. With this move, only three people remain charged in Otieno’s death. The family and their attorneys reacted publicly to the decision in a news conference earlier this week.
Caroline Ouko, Otieno’s mother, called the move a “radical, reckless decision with great ramifications.”
“We demand justice and nothing less,” she said, renewing her long-running call for the U.S. Department of Justice to get involved in the case.
An attorney for one of the accused sheriff’s deputies called the charges against his client “prosecutorial overreach.” That prosecutor, Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amanda Mann, requested that the charges be withdrawn as they were ordered by her predecessor in an interim position.
According to NBC News, Ouko publicly asked the Department of Justice to prosecute the case:
“We hope that the Dinwiddie commonwealth attorney can do her job. And if she is not willing to prosecute, the DOJ, where are you? Where are you? The Department of Justice, where are you?” Ouko said, her voice breaking. “It is time. It is time for you to bring your boots to Richmond and stand for Irvo. And get justice for my son.”
