Roommates, the family of Chinedu Okobi is in our thoughts and prayers as they mourn the loss of their loved one to police brutality. They are searching for answers after 35-year-old, Morehouse graduate, and father, Chinedu’s encounter with five sheriff deputies resulted in his death.
According to a video posted to Snapchat, Chindedu was wandering around El Camino Real, near Capuchino Drive, in the middle of the day on October 3rd. Reports say that hotel footage shows deputies arriving at the scene shortly after that. A witness told ABC7News that, “after getting tased and then into a scuffle with deputies, Chinedu, appeared disoriented, and then lost consciousness.” He was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Five deputies were on scene at the time of the assault. San Mateo County District Attorney, Steve Wagstaffe is investigating the case. He says he can’t go into precise details; however, he did share that “two different deputies tased Chinedu three or four times after he ignored their commands and continued to walk in and out of traffic.” He predicts that the investigation will be finished by December.
Chinedu’s family has hired a civil rights attorney in the Bay Area. A Press conference is set for Today (Tuesday, Oct. 16th) from 6:30-7:30 PST
Ebele Okobi, Chinedu’s older sister lives in London. She has returned to the states after learning about her brother’s death. She recalls instances when his mental illness has affected his routine. She claims that his mental illness first became evident during his time at Morehouse college.
“It was when he was studying for the GMAT that he had a psychotic break,” she said. She goes on to speak on his encounter with authorities, “My feeling is that he’s not on his medications and that he’s paranoid because he’s not on his medications.”
She claims that he has always been paranoid about law enforcement. “When he saw police officers he got really paranoid and really scared and then he started running away from them. And they took the fact that he was scared as non-compliance,” she continued.
Again, our thoughts and prayers are with the Okobi family at this time.
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