Nora Grace-Flood photo
Sgt. Betsy Segui with lawyer Greg Cerritelli in court Thursday.
Nora Grace-Flood file photo
Officer Luis Rivera.
Five arrested city cops showed up in state court for the first time Thursday for ongoing criminal cases stemming from their respective roles in the June 19 incident that left 36-year-old New Havener Richard “Randy” Cox injured and paralyzed while in police custody.
Those five individuals — New Haven Police Sgt. Betsy Segui and Officers Oscar Diaz, Ronald Pressley, Luis Rivera, and Jocelyn Lavandier — each appeared in Courtroom A at the state courthouse at 121 Elm St. to be arraigned on two misdemeanor charges apiece.
After brief appearances before state Superior Court Judge Frank Iannotti, each arrested city police officer was told to come back to the Church Street courthouse on Jan. 11 for the next hearings in their respective cases.
Thursday’s court appearances come less than two weeks after each cop was arrested on Nov. 28 and charged with one misdemeanor count of second-degree reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of “cruelty to persons.” Each of the five officers turned themselves in to the state police in Westbrook in late November, and each was released from custody after posting $25,000 bonds.
Segui was represented at Thursday’s hearing by attorney Greg Cerritelli, while the other four arrested city cops were represented by attorney John Keefe.
None of the arrested police officers or their attorneys spoke up during Thursday’s hearings before the judge.
Randy Cox’s criminal defense attorney, Jack O’Donnell, said that Cox had intended to make an appearance Thursday, but that he was unable to attend court due to logistical issues with transportation.
Thursday’s hearings and the related charges follow a June 19 incident that left Cox paralyzed from the neck down after sustaining a serious spinal injury while being transported to the police detention center, and then after his treatment by these same cops at the detention center itself. Read more about the cops’ arrests and that incident in detail here.
Judge Frank Iannotti.
Defense Attorney John Keefe.
John Keefe told the Independent after Thursday’s hearings that on Jan. 11, the officers “will probably enter pleas of not guilty” and schedule dates for future pre-trial hearings.
He added that he could not say for certain what decision the officers would make regarding their responses to the charges, as their defense team is currently waiting on a “large chunk of discovery from the state.”
Attorney Michael Jefferson, who is representing Randy Cox and arrived at the courthouse following Thursday’s hearings, told the Independent that “the family is certainly pleased with the arrests, though a little disappointed in the charges.”
Attorney Michael Jefferson: Cox's "family is certainly pleased with the arrests, though a little disappointed in the charges."
He said that his team is working to ensure that the officers are not granted accelerated rehabilitation, a program that can be granted to first time offenders in lieu of a standard criminal case procedure, including trial. Jefferson said that in order to be eligible for that program, the officers must be found unlikely to offend again — and that the crime they committed must be determined to not be of a serious nature.
Thursday’s hearings came roughly six months after police arrested Cox on weapons charges without incident at a Lilac Street block party on June 19. En route to the police station, the driver of a prisoner conveyance van slammed on the brakes to avoid crashing into another vehicle at the intersection of Division and Mansfield Streets. That abrupt stop sent Cox flying head first into the wall of the van, injuring his neck and spine. The driver of the van later called for medical help but, instead of asking for an ambulance to come to the scene, the driver proceeded to take Cox to the detention center at 1 Union Ave. There, rather than waiting for a medical crew to attend to Cox’s crumpled and paralyzed body, officers at the police lock-up accused Cox of lying, demanded he stand up, pulled him out of the van, placed him in a wheelchair, then dragged him across the floor into a cell. The case has sparked national outrage.
Yes, Accelerated Rehabilitation is the "get out of jail" card for first time offenders and will definitely be sought by the defense.
Should more serious charges have been brought? I have no idea as to what political considerations went into the misdemeanor charges, but a misdemeanor is easier to qualify for AR than is a felony.
While filing criminal charges against police in situations like this could be a strong precedent to deter future bad actors, the granting of AR would send the opposite message.
The core issue is the presence of known misfits within the NHPD and their protection over the years, whether because the law and the union lawyers were just too powerful to take on or whether some had friends in high places or no one wanted to embarrass the police as an organization.
Once again bad actors besmirch the diligent professionals within the NHPD AND once again the people of New Have will pay for the egregious wrongs committed against Mr. Cox.
Is Chief Jacobson up to cleaning house? He has a storehouse of good will, but will he waste it?
No doubt the Mayor is furious about what happened, even as he was creating a response team prepared to address issues of mental health or requiring a softer response than armed officers. Will he turn that outrage-and expense-into a demand that the bad apples be separated from service?
The millions Mr. Cox will need for his around the clock care for the rest of his life should be only one component of attempting to compensate him. Truly, there is no real compensation for being a paraplegic for the rest of one's life.
The real signal to Mr. Cox and the residents of New Haven that the leadership will make sure this NEVER happens again will be the thorough review of all complaints and litigations against all officers and the removal of any one deemed inappropriate for public service.
I hope the public will demand systemic change and not the resolution of just one atrocity.