A Connecticut man who was in police custody last year and became partly paralyzed has settled with the city of New Haven for $45 million.
Randy Cox, who was 36 at the time, was caught last June for having a handgun without a permit. He was put in a police van without a seatbelt.
According to video footage released by Cox’s family, the officer driving the van, Oscar Diaz, quickly hit the brakes, which caused Cox to slide across the bench and hit his head on the van’s wall.
Cox was left slumped in the back of the car for three minutes before Diaz stopped to check on him. “I am stuck. I’m going to die like this. Cox said, “Please, please, please help me.” He was finally taken to the detention center, where police officers told him to get up from the floor.
Cox said he couldn’t move, and an officer told him, “You’re not even trying.” Officers put Cox in a wheelchair, but he kept falling out of it. The video also showed a police officer saying, “He’s fine,” as Cox lay on the floor of a cell.
After the event, Cox filed a $100 million federal civil lawsuit against the officers and the city of New Haven. He said the officers were negligent, careless, and used too much force.
The tweet below verifies the news:
Connecticut man paralyzed in police ride last year awarded $45m https://t.co/GVEAISIWAh
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) June 11, 2023
According to the case, Cox has suffered serious injuries and damages, such as a broken neck, permanent paralysis below his neck, muscle loss, and a shorter life expectancy.
The $45 million deal was reached Friday night, two days after the city fired two police officers for treating Cox badly and not caring about him, according to the Associated Press.
“The city’s mistakes have been well documented,” Cox’s lawyers, including well-known civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, said in a statement.
“But today is a time to look forward, so people in New Haven can have faith in their city and police department,” the statement said.
Louis Rubano, one of Cox’s lawyers, told the AP that Cox “kind of relived what happened to him throughout the day yesterday, so it was a very emotional day”.
“He’s now relaxing,” Rubano said.
“Randy is 36 years old, and we hope he has a long life ahead of him with the support and care he deserves,” said Mayor Justin Elicker at a news conference on Saturday.
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