Prosecutors released the video of Irvo Otieno’s death: Live updates

Irvo Otieno’s family is originally from Kenya, and he came to the US at the age of 4, Mark Krudys, the attorney for Otieno’s family, told CNN.

Otieno, 28, had been on medication for mental illness.

March 3: That morning, the Henrico County Police responded to a report of a possible burglary and encountered Otieno, police said in a news release on March 10. Police officers – with the county’s Crisis Intervention Team – put him under an emergency custody order due to their interactions with and observations of him, police said.

According to Virginia law, a person can be placed under an emergency custody order when there is reason to believe they could hurt themselves or others as a result of mental illness.

Krudys said Otieno was experiencing a mental health crisis on March 3, and his mother was on scene and implored police not to be aggressive with him.

“I think it’s a relatively small thing,” Krudys said when asked what Otieno may have been accused of and why police were involved. “It’s like he was collecting these lights that were on the lawn. It was not done out of any type of wrongful intent. He was just troubled at the time.”

Henrico police officers eventually placed Otieno into custody without further incident, Krudys said.

Otieno was not able to take the medication while in custody, Krudys said.

He was taken for evaluation to a local hospital, where he became “physically assaultive towards officers,” police said. He was held on three counts of assault on a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct in a hospital and vandalism, police said.

Otieno was then transferred to the Henrico County Jail West.

March 6: At around 4 p.m. ET, Otieno was taken to be admitted to Central State Hospital, a state-run mental health facility south of Richmond, by the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office, according to the commonwealth attorney’s office. It’s not clear why deputies transferred Otieno.

During the intake process, Otieno became “combative” and was “physically restrained,” the attorney’s office said, citing what state police investigators were told. He died at the hospital “during the intake process,” the office said.

Krudys, who has not seen video of the incident, said the deputies had engaged in excessive force.

“His mother was basically crying out for help for her son in a mental health situation. Instead, he was thrust into the criminal justice system, and aggressively treated and treated poorly at the jail,” he said.

The cause of Otieno’s death has not been released, according to Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill.

CNN has sought comment from the Richmond medical examiner’s office and Central State Hospital.