美国国家公共电台 NPR--Irvo Otieno's mom wants justice for him and a better system for everyone else

Irvo Otieno's mom wants justice for him and a better system for everyone else

Transcript¹

Community members and loved ones gathered this week to mourn the death of Irvo Otieno, who was killed in custody² at a Virginia psychiatric hospital earlier this month.

The 28-year-old Black man died after 10 people piled on top of him for more than 11 minutes during the hospital intake³ process. Seven Henrico County sheriff's deputies and three Central State hospital employees have since been charged with second-degree murder.

Police took Otieno to a local hospital after his episode of mental health distress⁴ on March 3, but brought him to jail after saying he had become "physically⁵ assaultive" — a charge his family and their attorneys dispute.

The lawyers, Ben Crump and Mark Krudys, say Otieno experienced a "continuum of abuse" during the next three days, including being pepper-sprayed and left naked in his cell, before authorities took him to the state-run psychiatric facility for reasons they say are not clear.

The case has drawn⁶ attention to the way authorities respond to mental health crises, particularly for people of color.

It has spurred calls for Virginia officials to implement⁷ new law enforcement and mental health care reforms — including by the Rev⁸. Al Sharpton, who urged them to pass "Irvo's law" in his eulogy⁹ at the funeral on Wednesday.

To Otierno's family, the issues are systemic and the tragedy is personal. They want to honor — and bring justice — to the man at the center of it, who they remember as a gifted athlete, prolific¹⁰ musician and deeply loving person.

"My son was a good listener," Caroline Ouko says. "He was not quick to judge or give you an answer. He'd give you time ... He could make you laugh very easily, and then again, he could get serious ... He imparted that gift into me, to be able to look on both sides of the coin."

Ouko says Otieno was a humble¹¹ man who loved his family and friends and was passionate¹² about making it in the music industry. He released rap songs under the name Young Vo and was working towards starting his own record label.

Their family moved to the U.S. from Kenya when Otieno was 4. Ouko told Morning Edition's A Martínez that she and her son believed in the American dream, and she still does.

"I pray and hope that my home can do better by me and my family," Ouko says. "My son Vo told us one day that 'Mama, we'll be alright. God will not leave us hanging.' And so I'll hold on to that, and I pray that we as a nation can do better."

What she remembers about that night

Otieno started dealing¹³ with mental health struggles after high school, his mom says, and alternated between good stretches — sometimes lasting¹⁴ months or even a year at a time — and periods of distress.

"He had a good doctor looking out for him," Ouko adds. "But sometimes, even with that, he could still go into a place where he needed to be hospitalized."

Otierno was taken into custody on the night March 3, after police were called because he was gathering¹⁵ lights from his neighbor's yard. His family's lawyers have said they showed up with "Tasers out and hands on their weapons." Ouko draped herself around her son and implored¹⁶ officers not to take any action.

They placed him under an emergency custody order and transported him to a local hospital for further evaluation¹⁷. She followed him there, where she tried several times to see and reassure¹⁸ him, but was denied by the police.

"I didn't leave to drink water, I didn't leave to go even to the restroom," she says, since she didn't want to miss the doctor if he came looking for her. "They didn't give me any particular reasons why I couldn't see him. And that is what really hurt me."

Instead, law enforcement took him to jail. Ouko challenges their description of him as physically assaultive, noting at one point the doctor said he had slept for 40 minutes.

Crump tells Morning Edition that Otieno should have been allowed to stay in the hospital longer.

If he hadn't been taken to jail, he says, there would have been "a far different outcome than the one we witnessed on that videotape."

Authorities should have treated Otieno's case as a medical issue, not a criminal one, he adds.

"There is a propensity¹⁹ in America that when Black people are having mental health issues, it becomes a determining factor whether they live or die, based on the color of their skin," Crump says. "It happens far too often in America."

What she hopes will come from this

Ouko says she would like to see those involved in her son's death held accountable.

"I pray and hope that anyone along the way ... that contributed, that never stepped up to do the right thing, and eventually those ones that held my son down and literally²⁰ suffocated²¹ and choked the life out of him, I hope that they can be prosecuted²² and put away in jail so they don't live to do this to anybody else," she says.

The 10 suspects in the case are all out on bail²³, with hearings scheduled to begin in late April and early May, VPM's Ben Paviour reports.

He told All Things Considered that some of the lawyers for those charged have attempted to distance themselves from what happened, arguing their clients didn't know how severe the situation was and just wanted to help restrain an unruly patient.

Otieno's family and lawyers have said he looked "almost lifeless" when he entered the room, and hospital surveillance footage shows him being carried in while restrained with handcuffs and leg irons.

"He was on his face, restrained in a prone²⁴ position with approximately 1,000 pounds or more on top of him for not one minute, not two minutes, not three minutes ... but almost 12 minutes," Crump says.

Ouko says the way her son was treated — "they killed him and they didn't think twice about it" — raises questions about the systems at play and concerns that something like this could happen again.

That's why she and Crump are speaking out about the need for municipal, state and federal reforms in mental health and law enforcement. They'd especially like to see mental health courts come to Virginia, and for a change in what Crump calls the court of public opinion.

Most people have a loved one dealing with mental health issues, he says, urging them to demand accountability for how they are treated.

"My son could not be saved," Ouko says. "But it should never happen to anybody else's child who will be going through mental distress, going to ask for help. Or anyone else."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

3 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

4 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

8 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

9 eulogy   

n.颂词；颂扬

参考例句：

• He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. 他不需要我或者任何一个人来称颂。
• Mr.Garth gave a long eulogy about their achievements in the research.加思先生对他们的研究成果大大地颂扬了一番。

10 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

11 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

12 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

15 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

16 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

17 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

18 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

19 propensity   

n.倾向；习性

参考例句：

• He has a propensity for drinking too much alcohol.他有酗酒的倾向。
• She hasn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.她不曾料到他有暴力倾向。

20 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

21 suffocated   

（使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气

参考例句：

• Many dogs have suffocated in hot cars. 许多狗在热烘烘的汽车里给闷死了。
• I nearly suffocated when the pipe of my breathing apparatus came adrift. 呼吸器上的管子脱落时，我差点给憋死。

22 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

23 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

24 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。