CONNECTICUT, USA — Five Connecticut police officers pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges accusing them of cruelly mistreating a Black man after he was paralyzed in a police van with no seat belts when the driver braked hard.
The New Haven officers entered the pleas during their second appearances in state court since being arrested in November in connection with the injuries suffered by Richard “Randy” Cox, who is paralyzed from the chest down. All five remained free on bail and on paid administrative leave.
Officers Oscar Diaz, Jocelyn Lavandier, Ronald Pressley, Luis Rivera, and Sgt. Betsy Segui are charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and Cruelty to persons. Both charges are misdemeanors, which have been criticized by Cox's attorneys and his family.
FOX61 asked the officers and their attorneys for comment as they were walking out of court on Wednesday. One of the attorneys replied, "no thank you."
We also reached out to all attorneys representing the officers via phone and email. None of them replied with any comments.
The appearance itself happened earlier than the time it was scheduled for. It was so quick, that one of Cox's attorneys missed it.
"I wanted to make sure that I was there to let Randy know because as I've told him, I'll be at every hearing and I did my best to be there on time, I was early but, late, apparently," said Jack O'Donnell, one of Cox's attorneys.
O'Donnell said he sees Cox on a weekly basis. He's still paralyzed from the chest down...unable to do anything for himself.
"His spirits are generally good, considering the circumstances. He is disappointed that the police officers were only charged with misdemeanors," O'Donnell said.
O'Donnell expects the officers to eventually file for accelerated rehabilitation.
In the meantime, there's still another side to this. A civil lawsuit, where Cox's attorneys are asking the city of New Haven for $100 million. Last month, they started settlement talks.
"We all share the goal of trying to find a pathway to settle here, right? And, the good news is, we have, both sides have outlined what that pathway could be," said Mayor Justin Elicker of New Haven.
Elicker said he's hoping for a recovery for Cox, and next month, all stakeholders will be getting together for a settlement conference. That'll be on Feb.9th, and it's a confidential, virtual proceeding in front of a judge.
Elicker also said the city has been working to implement new policies to make sure what happened to Cox never happens again. He said the police department now requires seatbelts during transport, they only transport people in the back of police cars and not vans now. However, there is an exception for when they have to transport multiple people at once. They've also implemented new training in de-escalation and duty-to-intervene tactics.
The police department is also in the middle of an internal affairs investigation, which will decide if the officers need more discipline outside of criminal matters.
National civil rights and personal injury attorney, Ben Crump, who also represents Cox, sent out a strong statement after Wednesday's proceedings.
He said, “It is absolutely shameful that these officers fail to see how their actions led to the trauma and severe injury that caused Randy Cox to be paralyzed from the chest down. Since these five officers failed to take accountability for their actions, they will now have to face a trial, where the prosecution will present the significant evidence against their claims of no guilt. We are confident that will show just how little humanity Randy was shown and how that contributed to his lifelong, catastrophic injuries.”
The case has drawn outrage from civil rights advocates like the NAACP, along with comparisons to the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore. Gray, who was also Black, died in 2015 after he suffered a spinal injury while handcuffed and shackled in a city police van.
Cox, 36, was being driven to a New Haven police station on June 19 for processing on a weapons charge when, police said, the officer driving the van braked hard at an intersection to avoid a collision.
Cox, whose hands were handcuffed behind his back, flew headfirst into the metal partition separating the driver's section from the prisoners' compartment, resulting in Cox fracturing his neck.
“I can’t move. I’m going to die like this. Please, 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 him, according to police video and officials. Cox was lying motionless on the floor 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.
At the station, some of the officers mocked Cox and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries, according to surveillance and body-worn camera footage. Officers dragged Cox by his feet out of the van and placed him in a holding cell prior to his eventual transfer to a hospital.
Gregory Cerritelli, a lawyer for Segui, who was at the police station when Cox arrived, said his client is not responsible for Cox's injuries.
“Police officers are often required to utilize their best judgment in assessing situations, and are now 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 this is not the appropriate standard.”
Cox is suing the officers and city for $100 million in federal court for alleged negligence, excessive use of force, failing to provide immediate medical care, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.
In court documents, the officers and the city deny the lawsuit allegations, claim immunity and partially blame Cox for his own actions.
In court filings last week, the officers also accused an ambulance company and emergency medical technicians of failing to give Cox proper treatment before transporting him from the police station to the hospital.
The criminal charges against Cox that led to his arrest have been dropped.
New Haven police say they have put new policies in place in response to what happened to Cox, including eliminating the use of police vans for most prisoner transports and using marked police vehicles instead, along with making sure vans have seat belts.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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