US: 5 officers charged after black man paralyzed in police van
NEW HAVEN: Five Connecticut police officers were charged with misdemeanors on Monday for their treatment of a Black man after being paralyzed from the chest in the back of a police van.
Randy Cox36, was taken to the New Haven police station on June 19 to be charged with carrying a weapon when the driver braked hard, apparently to avoid a collision, causing coxswain robbed headfirst into the wall of the van, police said.
As Cox called for help, saying he couldn’t move, some of the officers mocked him and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries. Then officers dragged him by his feet out of the van and placed him in a holding cell ahead of his eventual transfer to a hospital.
The five New Haven police officers were charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons.
Officers attended a state police barracks on Monday. Each has been processed, posted $25,000 bond and is due back in court Dec. 8, according to a state police news release. Messages seeking comment have been sent to the officers’ lawyers.
The case has drawn outrage from civil rights advocates like the NAACP, as well as comparisons to the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore. Gray, who was also black, died in 2015 after sustaining a spinal injury while handcuffed and shackled in a city police van.
Five officers have been placed on administrative leave in Cox’s case. The state later dropped all charges against Cox that led to him being put in the van. They included illegal possession of a firearm and threats.
New Haven officials announced a series of police reforms this summer as a result of the case, including eliminating the use of police vans for most prisoner transports and the use of marked police vehicles. in place. They also require officers to immediately call an ambulance to respond to their location if the prisoner requests or appears to need medical assistance.
Randy Cox36, was taken to the New Haven police station on June 19 to be charged with carrying a weapon when the driver braked hard, apparently to avoid a collision, causing coxswain robbed headfirst into the wall of the van, police said.
As Cox called for help, saying he couldn’t move, some of the officers mocked him and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries. Then officers dragged him by his feet out of the van and placed him in a holding cell ahead of his eventual transfer to a hospital.
The five New Haven police officers were charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons.
Officers attended a state police barracks on Monday. Each has been processed, posted $25,000 bond and is due back in court Dec. 8, according to a state police news release. Messages seeking comment have been sent to the officers’ lawyers.
The case has drawn outrage from civil rights advocates like the NAACP, as well as comparisons to the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore. Gray, who was also black, died in 2015 after sustaining a spinal injury while handcuffed and shackled in a city police van.
Five officers have been placed on administrative leave in Cox’s case. The state later dropped all charges against Cox that led to him being put in the van. They included illegal possession of a firearm and threats.
New Haven officials announced a series of police reforms this summer as a result of the case, including eliminating the use of police vans for most prisoner transports and the use of marked police vehicles. in place. They also require officers to immediately call an ambulance to respond to their location if the prisoner requests or appears to need medical assistance.
