Lawyers for paralyzed man have ‘grave doubts’ about why police say van made sudden stop

NEW HAVEN — An attorney representing Randy Cox said his legal team has “grave doubts” about the existence of a car an officer claims cut through an intersection and caused him to slam on the brakes of the police transport van, resulting in his client’s paralyzing injuries.

The abrupt stop threw Cox forward inside the van — equipped with straps for prisoners to hold, but did not include seatbelts — causing him to strike his head on a metal partition.

Cox suffered a fractured neck and was left paralyzed from the chin down, according to the arrest warrants for the five police officers involved.

“We have grave doubts as to whether there was another car that caused the officer to stop quickly,” attorney Jack O’Donnell said Thursday. “We have doubted the existence of the other vehicle from the start.”

The five officers — Sgt. Betsy Segui and officers Oscar Diaz, Ronald Pressley, Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera — have each been charged by Connecticut State Police with second-degree reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons.

The officers appeared in court Thursday for the first time. The officers were not arraigned, but the case was transferred to the judicial district courthouse in New Haven where they are due back on Jan. 11.

The arrest warrants stated Diaz was driving the police transport van and told Cox he stopped suddenly to avoid a crash during the June 19 incident, according to audio and video from the vehicle.

Separate from the criminal case against the officers, Cox’s family has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the city, which remains ongoing. The family is represented by Ben Crump, a high-profile civil rights attorney who also represented the families of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker’s office announced this week the city had agreed to pursue a settlement with the family.

O’Donnell said he presumed that during the discovery process of the lawsuit, when the attorneys are required to exchange evidence, Cox’s team would receive any video evidence from the intersection when the incident occurred.

Cox was unable to attend Thursday’s court hearing for the officers.

“It wouldn’t have been worth it to have Randy Cox present in the court room today given the brevity of the proceedings,” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell said they will have to weigh the risks and benefits of Cox attending future hearings.

“We’ll do a balancing act because you have to look at the risk to him for being transported versus the need to be there for the proceedings,” he said.

Authorities and Cox’s lawyer have said the New Haven resident was placed in the back of the police van after he was arrested on a weapons charge at a block party on Lilac Street. While transported to a New Haven detention center, the van stopped suddenly, causing Cox to be thrown forward and slam his head, arrest warrants said.

Recordings from inside the van show Cox pleaded with Diaz to get him an ambulance, but he was instead taken to the New Haven Police Department’s detention center, where he again pleaded with officers for help.

“I can’t move, I’m going to die like this,” Cox was heard saying, according to the warrant. “Please, please, please, help me. Oh my god, please somebody help me.”

However, Cox was dragged from the van and placed in a wheelchair, and later taken to his cell before medics transported him to the hospital, the warrants stated.

The state police conducted an investigation and arrested the five officers on Nov. 28. They were stripped of their police powers and have been on paid administrative leave since June 21, two days after the incident occurred. A separate city internal affairs investigation will begin now that charges have been filed, local officials said