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The five New Haven Police officers were arrested on Monday, Nov. 28 after turning themselves in to Connecticut State Police in connection with the Sunday, June 19, incident.
The five were charged with reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons and released on a $25,000 bond.
They are:
- Officer Oscar Diaz
- Officer Ronald Pressley
- Officer Jocelyn Lavandier
- Officer Luis Rivera
- Sgt. Betsy Segui
The arrests come on the heels of a five-month investigation into the treatment of Richard "Randy" Cox, of New Haven, who was paralyzed while being transported to a detention center for allegedly threatening a woman with a gun at a street party, state police said.
During the ride in the police, which did not have seatbelts, Cox, who was handcuffed, was thrown on the floor when the van made evasive efforts to avoid being hit by another vehicle, the arrest warrant says.
After being thrown, Cox complains and cries that he can't move his body and he believes that he has broken his neck, the warrant states.
The driver of the van, Officer Oscar Diaz, keeps driving instead of pulling over and calling for help, the warrant says.
After a back-and-forth conversation with Cox, Diaz pullovers and unlocks the back door to look at the prisoner to see if he is telling the truth. At that time, he calls for an ambulance to meet him at the detention center and continues driving as Cox begs for help, the investigation found.
The warrant states, that once at the detention center, the other officers help drag Cox out of the van and put him in a wheelchair, and then dump him on the floor of a cell until EMS arrives.
After a brief examination, EMS transports Cox to an area hospital where he is found to have a fractured neck and is paralyzed from the chin down, the warrant states.
The officers declined to speak with investigators.
Lawyers for Cox filed a $100 million lawsuit in September against the city of New Haven and the officers involved.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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