What happened to Randy Cox? Connecticut cops charged over police van incident that left man paralyzed  

On Sunday, June 19, 2022, 36-year-old Randy Cox became paralyzed after cops allegedly put a sudden stop to the van that he was traveling in to avoid a possible collision.

Cox was arrested on Sunday on charges of possessing a handgun illegally. The five cops in connection with the transportation incident were charged with misdemeanors on Monday, November 28, 2022, for the way they treated Randy Cox back in June.

In September, a federal lawsuit was filed in the US District Court of Connecticut by Randy’s family against the five police officers and the city of New Haven.

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Randy Cox became paralyzed after cops abruptly stopped the van he was in

On June 19, when Randy was being taken to a detention facility, the driver of the van, Officer Oscar Diaz, abruptly braked to avoid another vehicle at the intersection. This sudden brake resulted in Cox, who was handcuffed and without a seat belt, violently sliding down head-first into the van’s back wall.

It was found that there were no proper seat belts inside the van where Randy Cox was sitting. The cops did not give him immediate medical attention and instead mocked him. They also accused Cox of being drunk.

In a body camera footage, the officers were seen dragging Randy by his feet and placing him in a holding cell, before admitting him to a medical facility.

After getting injured, Randy repeatedly asked for help. He also complained of not being able to move. Instead of getting medical aid, the officers asked him to “try harder.”

Latoya Boomer, Randy’s sister told CBS News,

“It made me sick to my stomach, to treat somebody like that.”

Randy was diagnosed with a fractured neck, and his left side was partially paralyzed as a result of the incident.

The five officers have been identified as Oscar Diaz (54), Sgt. Betsy Segui (40), Ronald Pressley (56), Jocelyn Lavandier (35), and Luis Rivera (40). All were charged with cruelty and second-degree reckless endangerment.

(from left) Officers Lavandier, Rivera, Pressley, Diaz, and Sgt. Segui, (image via @ColonCJC/Twitter)

According to Connecticut state police, all the alleged officers had turned themselves in and a bond of $25000 had been issued for each.

Karl Jacobson, the New Haven Police Chief, condemned and reprimanded the behavior of the officers and said,

“You can make mistakes, but you can’t treat people poorly, period. You cannot treat people the way Mr. Cox was treated.”

Ben Crump, Randy Cox’s family attorney stated,

“It is important — when you see that video of how they treated Randy Cox and the actions and inactions that led to him being paralyzed from his chest down — that those police officers should be held to the full extent of the law.”

The case gained special attention from civil rights groups. A comparison with Freddie Gray’s case in Baltimore had also been made. In 2015, Freddie Gray, an African-American, died of a spinal injury that he suffered in a police van while he was handcuffed.

All five officers have reportedly been on administrative leave since last summer. They are scheduled to appear in court on December 8, 2022. Four of them have filed motions asking for immunity, claiming that they haven’t violated any "established" legal notion or standard.

After this incident in June, the New Haven Police Department announced changes in the system, such as disallowing the usage of police vans for transporting prisoners and instead using regular police vehicles. They have also stated that officers must provide medical aid immediately to the prisoners, if and when they request it.