Five Connecticut police officers pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges accusing them of cruelly mistreating a black man after he was left partially paralyzed in a police van without seat belts when the driver slammed on the brakes.
The New Haven officers pleaded guilty during their second appearance in state court since being arrested in November in connection with injuries sustained by Richard “Randy” Cox, who is paralyzed from the chest down. The five remained free on bail and on leave from their jobs.
The officers — Oscar Diaz, Betsy Segui, Ronald Pressley, Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera — are charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons, misdemeanor charges criticized as too mild by Cox’s family and attorneys. .
5 CONNECTICUT OFFICERS CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANOR AFTER BLACK MAN IS PARALYZED IN BACK OF POLICE VAN
The case has drawn outrage from civil rights advocates such as the NAACP, along with comparisons to the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore. Gray, who was also black, died in 2015 after sustaining a spinal injury while handcuffed and chained in a city police van.
Cox, 36, was being driven to a New Haven police station June 19 for arraignment on a weapons charge when, police said, the officer driving the van slammed on the brakes at an intersection to avoid a collision.
Body camera video provided by New Haven police shown above shows Richard Cox, center, placed in a wheelchair after being pulled from the back of a police van after being taken into custody. by New Haven Police, on June 19, 2022, in New Haven. Connecticut. The officers involved have pleaded not guilty to mistreatment.
(New Haven Police via AP, File))
Cox, whose hands were handcuffed behind his back, flew headfirst into the metal partition separating the driver’s section from the prisoner’s compartment, causing Cox to fracture his neck.
“I can’t move. I’m going to die like this. Please, please help me,” Cox said minutes after the crash, according to police video.
Diaz, the officer driving the van, stopped a few minutes later to check on her, according to video from police and officials. Cox lay motionless on the ground, and Diaz called paramedics. However, Diaz told them to meet him at the station instead of waiting for them, a violation of department policy, Police Chief Karl Jacobson said.
CONNECTICUT MAN RECEIVES MAXIMUM SENTENCE OF 72 YEARS IN PRISON FOR 1984 HOME INVASION ATTACKS AGAINST 4 WOMEN
At the station, some of the officers taunted Cox and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries, according to surveillance and body camera footage. The officers dragged Cox by his feet out of the van and placed him in a holding cell before his eventual transfer to a hospital.
Segui’s attorney Gregory Cerritelli, who was at the station when Cox arrived, said his client is not responsible for Cox’s injuries.
“Police officers are often required to use their best judgment to assess situations, and now they are being judged with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight,” Cerritelli said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday. “Our Supreme Court has consistently held that this is not the appropriate standard.”
Cox is suing the officers and the city for $100 million in federal court for alleged negligence, excessive use of force, failure to provide prompt medical attention, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.
In court documents, the officers and the city deny the lawsuit’s allegations, claim immunity and partially blame Cox for his own actions.
In court papers from last week, officers also accused an ambulance company and EMTs of failing to provide Cox with proper treatment before transporting him from the police station to the hospital.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The criminal charges against Cox that led to his arrest were dropped.
New Haven police say they have implemented new policies in response to what happened to Cox, including eliminating the use of police vans for most prisoner transports and using marked police vehicles instead, in addition to make sure vans have seat belts.
