Council members link truancy to increased violence involving city youths

Continued from A1 a budget session Monday and came in the wake of the shooting of four RPS students away from school, with three left wounded and a fourth dead after he was accidentally shot while filming a social media video about having a weapon.

Among the council members expressing concern was Fifth District Councilwoman Stephanie A. Lynch, chair of the Education and Human Services Committee that deals with educational issues.

Ms. Lynch said one issue of concern is that RPS shed its truancy officers in 2019 and has not replaced them, making it more difficult, in her view, to round up children who are playing hooky.

“There were substantial programmatic changes made several years ago,” Ms. Lynch said. She said there is a need for discussion with RPS to determine if “our current truancy program is working and what could be done better.”

Eighth District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell also noted that she sees many school-age children out and about during the day and not in school. “We can’t tell them to go to school,” she said.

Third District Councilwoman Ann-

Frances Lambert also saw the number of truant children who are not in the classroom as a concern that needs more attention.

A former social worker herself, Ms. Lynch said that she also wants further discussion with RPS about the School Board’s early February decision to remove absenteeism from school social workers’ tasks, and asked whether more involvement from professionals who can work with families would be better.

She also expressed concern that RPS might not be effectively engaging nonprofits and other organizations.

“There are still programs that struggle to get funding to use space or gain access to RPS facilities,” she stated, noting that Parks and Recreation had to work with RPS to create a memorandum of understanding in order to get on a number of school campuses to offer after-school programs.

“I think there is an undertone of separation that RPS maintains,” Ms. Lynch stated, expressing her belief that “we can work smarter together or work harder apart.”

RPS has not responded to a Free Press query about the concerns that were raised.

Superintendent Jason Kamras also has not responded to the question of whether the school system has stopped holding parents accountable for failing to comply with state law to ensure their children are in school.

In a presentation to the School Board about work being done to improve attendance, Dr. Shadae Harris, RPS’ chief engagement officer, did not provide any data in her presentation on the number of conferences held with parents with chronically absent children.

Fourth District School Board member Jonathan Young said his understanding is that the school system has dropped any punitive consequences for families whose children do not attend. “It’s all carrot and no stick,” he said, and has proven a “colossal failure.”

The school district also plans to work more with the students and their families to deter them from that path.

Dr. Harris told the board that her team is developing a data-driven approach that relies on substantial engagement with and support for families.

“We want to continue with practices where we are seeing impact and in cocreating support plans with families,” she said. “We want to make sure the quality of these plans is top notch.”

Henrico County deputies charged in man’s death at mental hospital

Continued from A1 treatment, with his mother telling the local media that “something went wrong” while he was in the government’s custody.

“The family is grief stricken after learning of the brutal nature of Ivor’s death and his inhumane treatment in the hours preceding his death. The public, and experienced mental health professionals alike, will be appalled when the facts of this case are fully disclosed,” Mark Krudys, an attorney for the family, said in a statement, spelling Mr. Otieno’s first name as he said the family refers to him.

Mr. Otieno, whose family is from Kenya, was a deeply loved and well-regarded young man, an aspiring musician who had been a well-known high school athlete in the area, Mr. Krudys said.

Henrico County Police have previously said in a news release that officers responding to a report of a possible burglary March 3 identified Mr. Otieno as a potential suspect. Based on their interaction with and observations of Mr. Otieno, officers put him under an emergency custody order. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation, the news release issued Friday stated.

At the hospital, Mr. Otieno “became

Continued from A1

According to a police report and information issued by the council’s staff, the 50-year-old Richmond-area native was arrested March 8 after he sideswiped a car while traveling the wrong way on Sheppard Street in the near West End.

Police charged him with driving under the influence after he took a breathalyzer test and registered a blood alcohol content of .225 percent, or nearly three times the legal limit of .08 percent.

He told police he had been at Bingo Beer Co. for an event and was driving physically assaultive toward officers, who arrested him” and took him to a local jail, which is managed by the Henrico Sheriff’s Office, where he was served with several charges.

Ms. Baskervill’s statement said Henrico sheriff’s office employees took him to Central State Hospital, located south of Richmond, just before 4 p.m. on March 6 to be admitted. Around 7:30 p.m., state police were called to investigate his death.

State Police investigators were told Mr. Otieno had “become combative during the admission process,” Ms. Baskervill’s statement read.

Virginia State Police spokesperson

Corinne Geller confirmed Tuesday that the agency’s investigation into the matter remains ongoing. She said State Police have obtained hospital security footage as part of their criminal investigative file. There are no immediate plans to release it, she said.

The seven Henrico County Sheriff’s Office employees turned themselves in Tuesday morning and were taken to a regional jail, where they are being held without bond, Ms. Baskervill said. Her statement did not specify their rank.

Court records do not list defense attor- home.

Mr. Brown is now going through the legal process after being arraigned with a first offense of driving while intoxicated.

In the initial release on March 9, the council stated that “driving under the influence is a serious matter,” but did not indicate Mr. Brown would be ousted.

Mr. Brown has been city attorney since Aug. 1, 2022. Council named him to the post after moving him up to interim city attorney following Allen L. Jackson’s retirement in 2019.

A graduate of the University of Virginia, Mr. Brown earned his law degree at West neys for any of the seven defendants: Randy Joseph Boyer, 57, of Henrico; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37, of Sandston; Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45, of Henrico; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43, of Henrico; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50, of Henrico; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48, of Henrico; and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30, of North Chesterfield. The records show hearings scheduled in their cases Wednesday morning dealing with the appointment of counsel.

Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Gregory said in a statement that her office was cooperating fully with State Police and conducting its own internal review of the incident. She said seven deputies “who were transferring custody of Mr. Otieno” had been placed on administrative leave. “As Henrico County sheriff and on behalf of our entire office, I extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Irvo Otieno,” Sheriff Gregory said.

The body of Mr. Otieno was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond for examination and an autopsy, Ms. Baskevill’s statement said. An administrator at that office referred questions from the AP to Ms. Geller, who said she couldn’t release any information.

Virginia University College of Law in 1998.

He issued several controversial opinions in the past three years.

One was an ignored 2020 opinion spelling out his view that Mayor Levar M. Stoney could not use authority under a state law governing emergencies to remove Confederate statues.

Another was his 2022 opinion threatening a court challenge to Richmond Public Schools’ assertion of ownership of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, despite a state law that supports the RPS opinion.