Randy Cox was sitting in the back of a New Haven police van, Conn., Last week, having been arrested on a gun charge when the vehicle suddenly stopped. Cox, who was handcuffed and not wearing a seat belt, threw his head towards the front of the van, breaking his head against the wall and falling to the floor, according to videos from inside the vehicle that were published. from many news agencies. “Help”, the 36-year-old Black man groaned many times. He remained in that position until he arrived at the detention center about eight minutes later, when police dragged Cox out of the truck, placed him in a wheelchair, mocked him for his posture and dragged him once more into a cell. , according to the body- camera footage. Cox was in custody for “10 to 15 minutes” before paramedics arrived to transport him to the hospital, New Haven Police Department officials told reporters a day after the June 19 incident. Now Cox is paralyzed from the chest and breathing on a ventilator, lawyers and family members told a news conference on Tuesday, adding that Cox may never walk again. “Randy Cox is lying in that hospital bed paralyzed from the chest down because of the actions – and inactions – of the New Haven Police Department,” said civil rights lawyer Ben Crump. This video is SCARY! Randy Cox got into a police van without seat belts and, after a sharp stop, was thrown against the wall FIRST OF THE HEAD. We are literally witnessing a broken neck! As he was STILL lying on the floor of the van, he told police he could not move. What did they do? pic.twitter.com/L9izx7vmDt – Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) June 28, 2022 New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker (D) said last week that Cox had injured “his neck and / or spine, which could cause paralysis.” In a separate press conference on Tuesday, Eliker said the five police officers involved in the incident had been placed on administrative leave. Connecticut police are investigating, he said. After watching the videos “many times”, Eliker called the treatment of the police towards Cox “awful”. But “he saw no evil on the part of the officers,” he said. “I saw some bad decisions, an extreme lack of compassion.” The condition of Cox’s serious injuries immediately drew parallels with the case of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who suffered a serious neck injury in 2015 – and later died – after Baltimore police dragged him to the back of a van in handcuffs and handcuffs. , without seat belt. The incident sparked protests and six police officers were charged with various crimes resulting from the incident, although no one was convicted. Five years after Freddie Gray, Baltimore continues to struggle Cox’s case is “tragically similar,” Crump said, adding, “How many times do we have to see black people being brutally exercised into the hands of people who are supposed to protect and serve them?” Cox’s van had no seat belts, Assistant Chief of Police Carl Jacobson told reporters last week. Department officials said that around 7:30 p.m. On June 19, officers responded to a 911 call about a “gun complaint” on Lilac Street in New Haven. An investigation led them to Cox, who was in possession of a pistol, Regina Ras-Kittl, the current police chief, told reporters. Police arrested Cox for criminal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm and breach of the peace, he added. While in custody, Cox was “uncooperative,” Russ Kittl said. He was placed in the back of a transport truck to be transported to a detention center about nine minutes away by car, he said. For the first few minutes of the ride, video from the back of the van shows Cox hitting his body hard against the walls of the van and, at some point, falling to the ground and kicking the back door of the van. Cox was back on the bench when the vehicle suddenly stopped, hitting the wall of the van with his head. Lying face down, Cox started crying for help, the video shows. The video from the camera of the body of police officer Oscar Diaz, who according to the officials was driving the van, shows Diaz suddenly braking, honking and showing a frustrated hand gesture towards another driver. “A car went right in front of us and we were about to be hit,” Diaz said from behind the wheel as Cox was heard moaning in pain. Russ-Kittl told reporters that Diaz had made a “maneuver avoidance” to avoid a collision. Diaz asked if Cox was well, but continued driving for more than 3 minutes before going to check on Cox, who was trying to tell Diaz she had fallen, according to the video. “I can not move,” Cox said several times. When Diaz stopped the car to check on Cox, the 36-year-old said he could not move his arms. Diaz got back in the van and continued to the detention center, which was several minutes away. He told Cox he had called an ambulance. Jacobson, the assistant chief, said the department’s process is to stop officers and wait for medical help if someone they are carrying is injured. At the detention center, a group of officers asked Cox what was wrong and he said again that he could not move, according to body camera footage. Police pulled Cox out of the van, telling him to “shake your leg” and “sit up.” “I can’t move,” Cox said. “You’re not even trying,” one officer replied. After police pulled Cox’s fallen body out of the van, they placed him roughly in a wheelchair, according to the video. In another room, an officer reprimanded Cox for sitting “awkwardly” before proposing to Cox to sit down, the video shows. “If I could, I would,” Cox replied. Police then dragged Cox to a cell, where he waited for an ambulance, which took him to the hospital, according to video and police officials. Cox underwent emergency neck surgery, family members said Tuesday. Three days later he underwent a second neck operation. Crabb said the video of the incident “shocks my conscience. » “Why didn’t they believe George Floyd when he said ‘I can’t breathe’ 28 times? “Why didn’t they believe Eric Garner, who said, ‘I can’t breathe,’” Crabb said, referring to former victims of police violence. “And why didn’t the New Haven cops believe Randy Cox when he said, ‘I can’t move?’ ”
