The family of Kenyan Irvo Otieno who died while in police cells in the United States has finally been compensated 1.3 billion shillings six months after his controversial death.
The family of Otieno who died while in police custody at the hospital agreed to settle a wrongful death case against the state and the county where he died.
Lawyers representing the family of Irvo Noel Otieno announced the settlement on Wednesday evening. The Associated Press reported that it was 8.5 million dollars [equivalent to 1.254 billion Kenyan shillings.
The settlement was agreed to on Sept. 19, according to Henrico County District Court records.
“The family is pleased they were able to reach an out-of-court solution in a way that honors Irvo’s life,” the family’s attorneys Ben Crump and Mark Krudys said.
Otieno, 28, died on March 6 when seven police officers and three employees of the State General Hospital restrained him on the floor of the intensive care unit at the Dinwiddie County State Hospital.
Dinwiddie Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill said deputies “beat” Otieno to death after holding him face down for more than 10 minutes.
The case drew comparisons to the 2020 death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. Video from the arrest showed a police officer with his knee around the neck of a prone Floyd, who was heard saying, “I can’t breathe.”
The remarks became a summary of the protests that followed about the unequal treatment of Black and white suspects in custody.
