Arbo Otieno, 28, a black man who died in a hospital in Virginia, USA/Ben Crump Law
2023.03.17 Fri posted at 14:47 JST
（ＣＮＮ） Three staff members at the Virginia state psychiatric hospital have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a man who was arrested by a police officer. CNN affiliate WTVR reported the statement by the Dinwiddie County Prosecutor. Seven police officers were also arrested on suspicion of murder in the case on the 14th.
Arrested were 23-year-old, 27-year-old, and 34-year-old workers at Central State Hospital. The three men, along with seven previously arrested officers, are scheduled for a grand jury trial on Thursday.
Arvo Otieno, 28, a black man, died at Central State Hospital in the state on the 6th of this month. His family was shown a video on Saturday that allegedly showed Otieno being suffocated to death by police.
“My son was treated like a dog. Worse than a dog,” the mother said.
Prosecutors said Otieno was transferred from detention to a state psychiatric hospital on Saturday, where he died on the way. The arrest of the three hospital staff members was evidenced by security camera footage of the incident.
Prosecutors told the court on Wednesday that seven police officers held Otieno to the ground for 12 minutes while he was handcuffed and shackled. “They choked him to death,” he concluded.
Arbo Otieno, a 28-year-old black man, died in a Virginia hospital.
The Richmond coroner’s office also said the cause of death was asphyxiation.
The incident began on the 3rd of this month, when the police rushed to the scene after receiving a report that it might be a robbery, and found Otieno and arrested him.
Otieno was in a state of mental health crisis that day and his mother, who was present at the scene, told her son not to be violent, his lawyer said.
Otieno died at Central State Hospital in Virginia, USA./Bob Brown/Richmond Times-Dispatch/AP/FILE
Otieno was transferred to a detention facility for violent behavior at the hospital where he was taken for follow-up, and was taken to Central State Hospital for hospitalization on the 6th. However, on this occasion he was “restrained” for resisting and died in hospital.
Man dies at psychiatric hospital Arrests 3 staff and 7 police officers US
