Once again, taxpayers have to pick up the tab for egregious police misconduct:
$45 million settlement has been reached in the civil police brutality case involving Richard "Randy" Cox, a Black man now paralyzed from the chest down following an arrest by police officers in New Haven, Connecticut, nearly a year ago.
Five New Haven police officers were charged after Cox was left partially paralyzed while being transported in a police van.
Cox had been detained on a weapons charge when he was being driven to a police station on June 19, 2022. The van's driver slammed on the brakes at an intersection, allegedly to avoid a collision, causing Cox to fly headfirst into a metal partition inside the van.
Police video shows Cox was handcuffed when he was in the back of the New Haven police van, which was not equipped with seat belts.
About 30 seconds before the van abruptly stopped, footage shows Cox lying on the floor in the back of the vehicle trying to get up. He has difficulty doing so, apparently because he is handcuffed, the footage shows.
Video shows Cox eventually is able to get back into a seated position moments before Officer Oscar Diaz braked hard. The officer claimed he slammed on the brakes to avoid a collision, police said.
External footage shows Diaz driving down a residential street and then honk the horn three times and motion to another vehicle, as a loud thud can be heard from the back of the police vehicle Minutes after the crash, Cox said, "I can't move. I'm going to die like this. Please, please, please help me," USA TODAY previously reported.
As Cox pleaded for help, some of the officers at the detention center mocked him and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries, according to dialogue captured by surveillance and body-worn camera footage.
$45 million settlement has been reached in the civil police brutality case involving Richard "Randy" Cox, a Black man now paralyzed from the chest down following an arrest by police officers in New Haven, Connecticut, nearly a year ago.
Five New Haven police officers were charged after Cox was left partially paralyzed while being transported in a police van.
Cox had been detained on a weapons charge when he was being driven to a police station on June 19, 2022. The van's driver slammed on the brakes at an intersection, allegedly to avoid a collision, causing Cox to fly headfirst into a metal partition inside the van.
Police video shows Cox was handcuffed when he was in the back of the New Haven police van, which was not equipped with seat belts.
About 30 seconds before the van abruptly stopped, footage shows Cox lying on the floor in the back of the vehicle trying to get up. He has difficulty doing so, apparently because he is handcuffed, the footage shows.
Video shows Cox eventually is able to get back into a seated position moments before Officer Oscar Diaz braked hard. The officer claimed he slammed on the brakes to avoid a collision, police said.
External footage shows Diaz driving down a residential street and then honk the horn three times and motion to another vehicle, as a loud thud can be heard from the back of the police vehicle Minutes after the crash, Cox said, "I can't move. I'm going to die like this. Please, please, please help me," USA TODAY previously reported.
As Cox pleaded for help, some of the officers at the detention center mocked him and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries, according to dialogue captured by surveillance and body-worn camera footage.
