Dinwiddie prosecutor stepping down in June to pursue studies, calls decision unrelated to Otieno case
DINWIDDIE — Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill says her decision to step down later this month is unrelated to the ongoing criminal investigation into the death of a man three months ago at Central State Hospital.
Seven Henrico County deputies and three former CSH security personnel are facing murder charges in the March 6 suffocation death of Irvo Otieno. The case has attracted national media attention due to the nature of how Otieno died while being physically suppressed by the suspects on the floor of a hospital intake unit.
Baskervill, who previously had announced she would not run for re-election this November, is leaving Dinwiddie to pursue a graduate degree in governance and diplomacy in Europe. She said in a statement that she accepted the offer from L’Institut des Études Politiques in Paris on March 4, two days before Otieno’s death.
She announced her decision late Friday afternoon.
Her last day will be June 21. She will begin her studies in August.
Baskervill did not reference the investigation in either her resignation letter or announcement. A judge has put a gag order on everyone involved in the criminal proceedings, including the prosecution and defense attorneys.
“This requires a dramatic leap of faith that I am called in spirit to take," she said in the statement. “I have long wanted to return to school to pursue public policy work, and the opportunity to do this at the global level rich with diversity will be a humbling but exciting adventure.”
She called it “an unexpected dream come true.”
Otieno, 28, died March 6 in an admissions area of Central State Hospital where he had been taken by seven Henrico deputies. Surveillance video from the admissions area showed the deputies and three security guards restraining Otieno with their bodies for around 12 minutes after the deputies claimed he had become combative with them.
The state medical examiner released the official cause of death Monday — “positional and mechanical asphyxia [suffocation] with restraints.” The ME also ruled Otieno’s death a homicide.
The suspects are deputies Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Tabitha Rene Levere, 50; Brandon Edward Rodgers, 48; and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30; and hospital employees Darian M. Blackwell, 23, of Petersburg, Wavie L. Jones, 34, of Chesterfield, and Sadarius D. Williams, 27, of North Dinwiddie.
Their next court dates are set for late July and early August.
In a surveillance video from the hospital, deputies are shown dragging Otieno into the room and putting him on the floor beside a chair. At one point on the video, Otieno is seen moving slightly before he is pulled down completely on the floor and subdued by the deputies and hospital personnel.
Baskervill sought the arrests of the suspects based on what was seen in the video. She asked the Dinwiddie Circuit Court to approve the arrest warrants rather than going through a magistrate's office.
The case has drawn national and worldwide attention because of its similarities to other high-profile killings of Black citizens over the last decade. Well-known civil-rights attorney Ben Crump, whose name has been attached to the cases of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, joined the family's legal team.
Baskervill has asked the federal Justice Department for assistance in prosecuting the case. A decision on that has not been announced, although Otieno’s family said it supports such a move.
More: Mourners remember Irvo Otieno: Big-hearted, always kind, budding rapper, reason for change
Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Prosecutor in Irvo Otieno death case is stepping down from job
