Mental health expert calls for change after Irvo Otieno's death

The death of Ivo Otino has some mental health experts in Virginia calling for change. Seven Henrico deputies are charged in his murder. Many police departments already train their officers in crisis intervention. New Tonight, Dan Kennedy investigates whether more can be done. Mental illness impacts one in five Virginians each year. Most deal with it in private, until this month's tragic death of Ivo Otino caught on hospital surveillance. I think the magnitude of the problem has just been kind of swept under the rug.

Kathy Harky is taking this moment to call for change. As executive director of Virginia's National Alliance of Mental Health, she says members of the state's criminal justice system are not equipped to respond to mental health medical emergencies. Compassionate humane systems need to be in place again to treat this as a medical emergency opposed to a criminal call. That's where crisis intervention teams come in. Most police departments offer CIT training. Norfolk police say training is across the board, including dispatchers. Virginia Beach police say more than 50% of the force is CIT certified.

And in Newport News, officers complete real life based scenarios during their training. And to be honest, many, many officers do an outstanding job and they do put the patient first. In Trico County, where Otino died, our news partners NBC 12 uncovered public records that show all seven deputies charged in his death, completed 40 hours or more of crisis intervention team training. Of course was discouraged when I saw that they had CIT training. But at the same time, it also showed me that we need to do a little bit more. He says OTNO needed medical intervention, but was met with force moving forward. She calls for more funding and more education, not just for police, but for everyday people who may be calling 911 to report a mental health crisis.

Dan Kennedy, 13 News Now.

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