Criminal charges dropped against man left with paralysis in US police custody
A man who was left partially paralyzed while in police custody has had all criminal charges against him dropped.
On 19 June, 36-year-old Randy Cox of New Haven, Connecticut, was arrested on charges of illegal handgun possession. Cox was put into a police transport van without any seatbelts and was en route to a detention center when the officer behind the wheel, Oscar Diaz, suddenly braked. Video footage released by Cox’s family and published by CNN shows a handcuffed Cox sliding across the bench and hitting the van’s wall with his head.
Diaz continued to drive for three and a half minutes before stopping to check on Cox, who at this point was slumped at the back of the van and was crying out for help.
“I can’t move,” Cox said, “I broke my neck.”
Cox was eventually taken to the detention center where police officers told him to get up from the floor. “Sit up,” an officer said to which Cox responded, “I can’t move.”
“You’re not even trying,” she replied. Police officers eventually dragged Cox out of the van and put him into a wheelchair that he repeatedly slipped from.
Officers then dragged Cox out of the wheelchair and pulled him across the floor to a cell where they put him up against a bed.
Video shows Cox falling back onto the floor again. “He is perfectly fine,” an officer said as Cox lay on the floor.
The five officers who were involved in the incident are currently on paid administrative leave as they are investigated by the state’s attorney office. They are also facing a $100m federal civil lawsuit filed on behalf of Cox. The suit alleges negligence, carelessness and executive force against the officers involved.
According to the lawsuit, Cox has been left with severe injuries and damages including a cervical spine fracture, permanent paralysis below his neck, permanent muscle atrophy and shortened life expectancy.
“The New Haven police department handled this incident horrifically from start to finish, and now they must answer for their conduct,” said Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing Cox.
“The decision to drop the charges against Randy was absolutely the right one, considering how gravely he was injured while in police custody and how obviously these officers had biases against him,” he added.
In a statement to ABC News, New Haven mayor Justin Elicker said, “We are deeply committed to making sure something like this never happens
again, and also to ensure that Randy gets justice. And we’ve implemented a lot of different policies, training in the police department to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again … We’ll continue to talk with our attorneys [throughout] this process.”