NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The chief of the New Haven Police Department is recommending the termination of all of the officers involved in the handling of Randy Cox while he was in their custody.
The recommendation was made Tuesday while Chief Karl Jacobson announced updates to the internal investigation into how the five officers handled Cox, who was injured and left paralyzed while in police custody in June 2022.
"If we gave Randy a voice that day and he said he was injured, we wouldn’t be here today. If we treated him with dignity, we might not be here today," said New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson.
The five officers involved were arrested in November 2022. The internal investigation concluded on March 6.
Officer Oscar Diaz drove the van carrying Cox, which stopped short, causing Cox's body to slam into the back of the van, leaving him paralyzed. Officers Jocelyn Lavandier, Luis Rivera, Ronald Pressley and Sgt. Betsy Segui were involved in handling Cox afterward, and are accused of mocking Cox and dragging him by his feet to a holding cell before he was eventually brought to the hospital.
All five officers pleaded not guilty to reckless endangerment and cruelty misdemeanors in January.
Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Cox, said in a statement, "These officers were sworn to protect their community, but they inflicted unnecessary and traumatizing harm to Randy, who will pay the price for the rest of his life. Randy prays everyday that he can get into a facility that can provide him the care that he needs to live life to the fullest as a quadriplegic individual.”
Pressley retired back in January, but the other officers face termination, the chief said. The chief cannot hire or fire officers and personnel, so he made his termination recommendation to the police commissioners, which will be decided around the end of April or early May.
"This administration does have your back and that mistakes do happen but we will not treat this community disrespectfully," added Chief Jacobson.
"We will be transparent and we will be accountable and we will hold our officers accountable," Jacobson said, and later added, "Mistakes do happen but we will not treat this community disrespectfully."
The investigation also included implementing new policies at the department, including adding seatbelts to all the vans, limiting van use to just court runs, and additional police training.
"From day one, what happened to Randy Cox was unacceptable," Mayor Justin Elicker said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon. "We need to ensure that this never happens again."
"It was like something that we was waiting for. It's one of the steps but there's still a lot more to go and Randy he kind of understands it but he's still processing it too," said Doreen Coleman, Randy Cox's mother.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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