Virginia Officers Accused Of Smothering Black Man To Death At Psychiatric Institution

FOR COUNCILMEMBER 4TH DISTRICT

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• Henry C. Rizzo

• Eric Bunch

• Crissy Dastrup

FOR COUNCILMEMBER 5TH DISTRICT

VOTE FOR ONE Ryana Parks Shaw

FOR COUNCILMEMBER 6TH DISTRICT

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• Dan Tarwater III

• Michael Shuckman

• Jonathan Duncan

• Cecelia Carter

• Tiffany Moore

INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS

If you are in favor of these questions, completely darken the oval beside “YES”. If you are opposed to these questions, completely darken the oval beside “NO”.

CITY OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI APRIL 4, 2023

QUESTION 1 (Additional Sales Tax on Retail Sale of Adult Use NonMedicinal Marijuana)

Shall the City of Kansas City impose an additional sales tax of three percent (3%) on the retail sale of adult use nonmedicinal marijuana for the exclusive purpose of providing neighborhood quality of life improvements, to fund through the Department of Health, refuse and neighborhood cleanup services, homeless prevention services, and violence prevention services administered by the City?

QUESTION 2 (Transient Boarding and Accommodation Tax) Shall the City of Kansas City impose a Transient Boarding and Accommodation Tax of seven and one-half percent (7.5%) to all lodging establishments, including short-term rentals, not otherwise subject to the City’s Convention and Tourism Tax?

YES or NO

QUESTION 3

Lodging Establishment Fees Shall the City be authorized to impose the following license fee for the purpose of funding convention and tourism activities:

Up to an additional $1.50 per occupied sleeping room per day on all hotels, motels and tourist courts, with such fees being in addition to the existing $1.50 occupancy fee on hotels and motels for a combined fee of $3 per occupied sleeping room per day also to be applied to all short- term rentals conducting business within the City?

YES or NO

THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI FOR SCHOOL DIRECTOR

Shall Jackson County, Missouri, be authorized to impose a countywide sales tax of three percent (3%) on all tangible personal property retail sales of adult use, non-medicinal marijuana sold in Jackson County, for the purpose of funding community services and veterans support services through a dedicated special revenue fund, and for other purposes authorized for the expenditure of County general revenues?

YES or NO

SUB-DISTRICT FOUR TERM EXPIRES 2027

VOTE FOR ONE NO CANDIDATES FILED Write-In Candidates only:

• Monica Curls

• Jay Gray

HICKMAN MILLS C-1 SCHOOL DISTRICT

FOR DIRECTOR THREE-YEAR TERM VOTE FOR THREE

• Irene Kendrick

• Brandon Wright

• Clifford Ragan III

• Byron Townsend

CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 2 (RAYTOWN) FOR DIRECTOR THREE-YEAR TERM VOTE FOR THREE

• Shaun Bryant

• Madelyne Renee Douglas

• Jules Sneddon

• Michael Watson Jr.

• Torrence Kelley

• Nodie Newton III

• Rick Moore

INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS

If you are in favor of these questions, completely darken the oval beside “YES”. If you are opposed to these questions, completely darken the oval beside “NO”.

CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 2 (RAYTOWN)

QUESTION #1

Shall Raytown C-2 School District issue its general obligation bonds in the amount of $35,000,000, estimated to result in no tax increase to the District’s debt service property tax levy, for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, improving, repairing, renovating, furnishing and equipping school facilities, including constructing a performing arts facility at Raytown South High School and constructing gymnasiums at Raytown High School and Raytown South High School?

If this question is approved, the District’s debt service property tax levy is estimated to remain unchanged at $1.2906 per $100 of assessed valuation of real and personal property.

QUESTION #2

Shall the Board of Education of Raytown C-2 School District be authorized to increase the ceiling of the operating tax levy to $5.1994 per $100 of assessed valuation according to the 2023 assessment for the purpose of paying general operating expenses of the District?

If this question is approved, it is estimated that overall tax levy of the District will remain unchanged as the operating tax levy is expected to increase by $0.17 per $100 of assessed valuation with an expected corresponding reduction to its debt service property tax levy. This is expected to result in zero increase of the District’s current total property tax levy.

YES or NO

CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 4 (GRANDVIEW)

FOR DIRECTOR THREE-YEAR TERM VOTE FOR THREE

• Stacy Wright

• Damon Greene

• Monica Terry

• Patrica Smith

• Johnmark Bell

REORGANIZED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 7 (LEE’S SUMMIT)

FOR DIRECTOR THREE-YEAR TERM VOTE FOR THREE

• William “Billy” Peterson

• Regina Garrett

• Erica Dolores Miller

• Kamile Johnson

• Stacy Cronhardt

• David Grady

• Kathryn “Kathy” Campbell

REORGANIZED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 7 (LEE’S SUMMIT)

QUESTION

INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS

If you are in favor of this question, completely darken the oval beside “YES”. If you are opposed to this question, completely darken the oval beside “NO”.

Shall the Board of Education of Reorganized School District No. 7 of Jackson County, Missouri (Lee’s Summit) be authorized to increase the operating tax levy by $0.20 per $100 of assessed valuation according to the 2023 assessment in order to increase compensation for employees to attract and retain quality faculty and staff?

If this question is approved, the operating tax levy is estimated to be $4.5962 per $100 of assessed valuation and so that there is no net increase to the overall tax levy of the District, it is the intention of the Board of Education of the District to reduce the debt service tax levy by $0.20

YES or NO

By Sanjana Karanth

Seven officers and three hospital workers are facing murder charges after being accused of smothering a Black man to death at a Virginia state psychiatric institution.

At the officers’ first court hearing Wednesday, Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill said that Henrico County sheriff’s deputies held down 28-year-old Irvo Otieno on the floor of Central State Hospital for 12 minutes while he was shackled and handcuffed, according to local outlets. The incident occurred while Otieno was being admitted to the state mental institution on March 6.

Contrary to authorities’ claims, Baskervill said that security camera footage from the institution shows Otieno did not appear combative before the incident and was sitting in a chair when officers pulled him to the floor, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Otieno suffocated from the weight of the deputies lying on top of him, Baskervill reportedly argued, describing it as an act of deliberately cruel treatment. The prosecutor said there was no justification for the officers’ actions, which she called a “demonstration of power that was unlawful,” according to the newspaper.

“You can see they’re putting their back into it,” attorney Mark Krudys said at a press conference Thursday alongside Otieno’s family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump. The family and attorneys viewed the security footage of the attack earlier Thursday. Officials have declined to release the video to news outlets, citing the pending investigation by Virginia State Police.

“Every part of his body is being pushed down with absolute brutality,” Krudys continued. “You cannot even see his image many times.”

Seven Henrico County deputies were arrested earlier this week and charged with second-degree murder in Otieno’s death. The deputies are Kaiyell Sanders, Randy Boyer, Tabitha Levere, Bradley Disse, Dwayne Bramble, Jermaine Branch and Brandon Rogers.

A judge granted bail to Branch and Disse after their attorneys argued the two deputies had clean backgrounds and were not a flight risk, though it’s unclear whether they have posted bail. The remaining deputies told the judge they are still working to retain counsel, and they will continue to be held until at least next week, the Times-Dispatch reported.

“It is truly shocking that nearly three years after the brutal killing of George Floyd by police, another family is grieving a loved one who allegedly died in nearly the exact, same manner — being pinned down by police for 12 agonizing minutes,” Crump said in a statement Thursday.

According to the family’s attorneys, Otieno was an aspiring musician and well-known high school athlete in Henrico County. Immigrating here from Kenya with his family as a child, Otieno was “deeply loved by his parents,” Crump said.

“This was my baby. He cared for people. He cared that people were treated right. That was at the core of the upbringing in our home,” Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, said at the Thursday press conference.

Otieno had a history of mental health battles and was experiencing distress at the time of his first encounter with law enforcement. According to Henrico County Police — a separate agency from the county sheriff’s department — officers were responding to a report of possible burglary on March 3 in suburban Richmond and encountered Otieno, putting him under an emergency custody order “based on his behavior” and taking him to a local hospital for evaluation. The police’s statement on the incident did not describe Otieno’s behavior that led to the order.

Krudys told The Associated Press on Thursday that he believes the incident stemmed from a neighbor calling police over a concern about Otieno gathering lawn lights from a yard. Otieno’s mother attempted to deescalate the encounter with police, and the family was initially supportive of him being taken to a hospital because they believed he was going to receive needed mental health treatment.

Police alleged that Otieno became “physically assaultive toward officers, who arrested him” and took him to Henrico County jail, where he was served with several charges and held over the weekend without most or all of his medications. According to Baskervill, Henrico jail video shows several deputies tackling and beating Otieno while he is naked, local outlets reported.

“Can you imagine how he is feeling? He was naked in his cell and not receiving his medications. They were potentially abusive to him. According to the prosecutor, they peppersprayed him,” Krudys told WTVR-TV on Wednesday.

On March 6, authorities transported Otieno from the jail to Central State Hospital, a state-run psychiatric institution. According to Krudys, Otieno’s family was confused as to why their relative was sent to a state institution and not a facility meant to help heal and treat patients struggling with their mental health.

“He was treated deplorably,” Krudys told WTVR. “He was treated with force and not love when he was in a mental health crisis.”

Otieno died when deputies allegedly attacked him during the intake process. Defense attorneys argued that two medical injections administered to Otieno during the incident may have played a part in his death, according to the TimesDispatch. Baskervill disputed the claim, reportedly saying that Otieno “probably died before the injections” because his heart already stopped by the time the injections were administered.

The Henrico County medical examiner’s office has not yet released to the public its final determination on the cause and manner of Otieno’s death. According to the newspaper, Baskervill said the medical examiner ruled preliminarily that Otieno’s cause of death was asphyxiation and the manner was homicide — however, the doctor who performed the autopsy reportedly plans to view video from Central State and Henrico jail.

“Mental illness should not be your ticket to death. There was a chance to rescue him. There was a chance to stop what was going on. And I don’t understand how all systems failed him,” Ouko said.