RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Rev. Al Sharpton joined family attorney Ben Crump in speaking at the memorial service for Irvo Otieno this morning.
The memorial service was held at First Baptist Church on Iron Bridge Road and was scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 29. A spokesperson for Ben Crump said there would be a “national call for justice” at the service.
Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies took Otieno, 28, to Central State Hospital in Dinwiddie County and arrived just before 4 p.m. on Monday, March 6. Virginia State Police — leading the investigation — said that Otieno “became combative” as he was being admitted.
Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50; Brandon Edward Rodgers, 48; and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30; appeared in Dinwiddie County Circuit Court via video chat Wednesday, March 15. They were all charged with second-degree murder.
Three Central State Hospital employees — Darian M. Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg; Wavie L. Jones, 34, of Chesterfield; and Sadarius D. Williams, 27, of North Dinwiddie — were also charged with second-degree murder a couple of days later.
Video was released to the public on March 21 that showed the deputies and hospital staff restraining Otieno — handcuffed and shackled at the ankles — and pinning him to the ground for an estimated 12 minutes before he is rendered unconscious and ultimately dies.
A grand jury formally indicted all 10 defendants on Tuesday, March 21.
