FOG BLOG U.S. NEWS LOG: 7 SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES CHARGED IN VIRGINIA WITH THE DEATH OF IRVO OTIENO!

7 Virginia deputies charged with 2nd-degree murder in death of Black man who was ‘smothered’ in custody, prosecutor says Seven sheriff’s deputies in central Virginia were arrested and charged with second-degree murder Tuesday in the death of a Black man who prosecutors say was fatally “smothered” while in custody.

Irvo Otieno, 28, died on March 6 at a state mental health facility during the intake process as he was being transferred from a Henrico County jail, according to a statement from Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill.

In court Wednesday, Baskervill said Otieno was in handcuffs and leg irons and was held on the ground for 12 minutes by all seven deputies.

“They smothered him to death,” she said. “He died of asphyxia due to being smothered.”

She said the incident was captured on video that is “extremely clear, extremely alarming.”

The video is 12 minutes long and shows “deliberate and cruel treatment,” she added. CNN obtained audio of the court hearings for all seven of the deputies from the Dinwiddie Circuit Court Clerk.

An attorney for the family noted the “brutal nature” of his death in a statement.

“The family is grief stricken after learning of the brutal nature of Irvo’s death and his inhumane treatment in the hours preceding his death,” Mark Krudys, the attorney for Otieno’s family, told CNN. “The public, and experienced mental-health professionals alike, will be deeply disturbed when the facts of this case are fully made known.”

The case comes as law enforcement use of force has been under scrutiny nationwide, particularly as it relates to violence against Black people.