Mourners remember Irvo Otieno: Big-hearted, always kind, budding rapper, reason for change
CHESTERFIELD – Family and friends said goodbye to Irvo Otieno Wednesday in a service that both celebrated his life and served as a clarion call for reform in mental health care for minorities.
“Everybody loved Irvo,” childhood and high-school friend Jimmy Marshall said through tears. “Thank you for all the great memories. Rest in peace. I miss you, brother.”
Otieno’s brother, Leon Ochieng, called him “the big brother I never had” even though Otieno was younger than him. Ochieng, who was coming home to the Richmond area to help his brother start his musical career when Otieno died March 6, has vowed to fight for justice in the memory of Otieno.
“Irvo’s life has given me purpose,” Ochieng said as he stood over the flower-draped casket of his brother.
Otieno, 28, apparently suffocated to death when seven Henrico County deputies and three Central State Hospital security guards pinned him to the floor of an admissions area at the hospital. The deputies claimed Otieno had been combative and was trying to resist them when they brought him to CSH, but the family said Otieno, who suffered from mental-health illness, was only trying to breathe under the mass of the people piled upon him.
Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, spoke to her late son directly in her remarks. She called him a “soldier” and “the man.”
“When I took my son to the hospital, this is not what I envisioned,” Ouko said. “Son, this is where we are and I’m sorry.”
Three days before his death, Henrico Police came to Otieno’s home investigating a burglary in which a neighbor claimed he was involved. When they got there, Otieno was in the midst of a mental crisis, and his mother was asking them to take that under consideration. Otieno was taken to Henrico Doctors Hospital for treatment and then, as his mother claimed, “whisked out the back door” of the hospital and taken to jail.
Surveillance video released by the Dinwiddie commonwealth’s attorney’s office showed Henrico deputies manhandling a lethargic and unmedicated Otieno in his jail cell. Later, video from the hospital showed the seven deputies and three CSH security guards atop him for 12 minutes, during which he reportedly suffocated.
All 10 of those people have been indicted in Dinwiddie County on charges of second-degree murder.
"We will get to the bottom of what happened to you,” Ouko said during the service. “We will stand for you. We will walk for you.
“Rest in peace, my son,” she added. “Shine on. Rest in power. I love you and I will always love you.
Watch the livestream of the Irvo Otieno memorial service at this link.
Hundreds in attendance
The two-hour service at First Baptist Church of South Richmond’s Chesterfield campus drew hundreds of people. The auditorium was opened early so mourners could file past Otieno’s open casket and pay respects. Otieno was dressed in a gold shirt, and dark bow tie and suit.
His casket was closed prior to the family’s arrival and stayed closed for the duration of the service.
The service was delayed for about an hour because the Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy, was late in arriving from New York to Richmond. It was supposed to begin at 11:30 a.m., but did not actually get started until 66 minutes later.
In his eulogy, Sharpton called for increased awareness of mental-health awareness among the minority communities, especially in the way Black mental patients are treated as opposed to Whites or other races. When Black people are in the throes of mental illness, they are treated like criminals instead of receiving the medical assistance they need.
More: Mourners remember Irvo Otieno: Big-hearted, always kind, budding rapper, reason for change
“The disgrace is not that Irvo had mental illness,” Sharpton said. “The disgrace is how you treated him [referring to the deputies and the CSH personnel].”
Earlier in the service, Richmond City Councilor Mike Jones, one of two Scripture readers at the service, touched on that same theme.
“Mental health should not be stigmatized like it is,” Jones said. “As a legislator, we need to do more.”
Sharpton called on Gov. Glenn Youngkin to prioritize minority mental-health treatment in Virginia. Youngkin, who brought the governor’s office back to the Republicans when he was elected in 2021, has often been mentioned as a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2024, and Sharpton touched on that.
‘Youngkin won’t be president if he can’t explain his policies as far as mental health goes,” Sharpton said. Later, he encouraged Youngkin to remember Otieno’s death in championing “Irvo’s Law” that would address inequities in treatment.
“If the governor wants to run for president, he must go through Caroline,” Sharpton said, referring to Otieno’s mother.
Youngkin did not attend the service, but representing his administration were Secretary of the Commonwealth Kay Cole James and advisor Richard Cullen. Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in an email to The Progress-Index that the governor "remains steadfast that we must get to a place in the commonwealth where people in need of mental health services are met pre-crisis" and is "committed to transformative changes in Virginia’s behavioral health system so that all Virginians can receive the help they need when they need it."
More: Guest column: You have to wonder what the deputies, guards on Irvo Otieno were thinking
Celebration of life
The two-hour service was a celebration of Otieno’s 28 years. Several pastors offered different prayers not just for Otieno and his family, but also for lawmakers and the people prosecuting the suspects in Dinwiddie County.
A tribute video showed various family photos with Otieno, and many of them focused on his love of playing football and basketball in pee-wee league and at Douglas Freeman High School. While the pictures were shown, the soundtrack featured Otieno, an aspiring musician, performing an original rap song.
At the end of the video, an image of Irvo Otieno was superimposed over the scene of a sunset, As it faded, mourners leaped to their feet cheering, clapping and shouting praises and hallelujahs.
Classmate Zachary Weiss remembered Otieno displaying “a lot of humility that I admired.” He said he would miss Otieno’s “laugh and his million-dollar smile.”
As the service ended, Bishop Daniel Wainaina, one of the family’s pastors, encouraged mourners to leave the church feeling “forgiveness” because that is what Otieno would have wanted.
More: Dinwiddie judge rejects defense motion to hold Irvo Otieno's body as evidence
More: Surveillance video shows deputies, hospital workers pinning Irvo Otieno to the ground
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: Civil-rights leader speaks at memorial sevice for Irvo Otieno
