Relief, Frustration Follow Cops’ Arrests

Richard ​“Randy” Cox heralded the arrests of the five New Haven police officers who left him permanently paralyzed a step towards justice — while the 36-year-old New Havener’s family and legal team slammed state prosecutors for not bringing heavier charges against those same cops.

Those were the takeaways of a Tuesday afternoon press conference held outside City Hall. The presser took place one day after state police arrested New Haven Police Sgt. Betsy Segui and Officers Oscar Diaz, Ronald Pressley, Luis Rivera, and Jocelyn Lavandier for their roles in a June 19 incident that left Cox severely injured while in police custody.

While Cox’s family members and lawyers read on Tuesday from a letter written by Cox, who is still paralyzed from the chest down, they also criticized state prosecutors for charging those officers with misdemeanors and not felonies. They stressed that Cox is now facing $20 million in life-long medical bills after his life sentence as a quadriplegic. 

“These charges were a slap in the face,” Cox’s sister Latoya Boomer stated to the crowd of reporters and community members who attended the conference Tuesday. She argued that if one of her children were to get seriously hurt under her watch and she didn’t take them to the hospital, just as the cops involved in Cox’s incident did not wait for an ambulance to come to his aid after he reported having hit his head in a police van following a sudden stop by a speeding police officer, ​“I would be arrested on the spot.”

Boomer also read during Tuesday’s press conference from a letter written by her paralyzed brother. That letter from Cox said that he is ​“glad to see the system working” in response to the five cops’ arrests. ​“It’s only an arrest but it’s a start,” Cox wrote and Boomer read. ​“It’s a nice start to getting justice.”

Read more about Monday’s outcome of the state cops’ months long investigation here, which resulted in each cop charged with one misdemeanor count of second-degree reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of​“cruelty to persons.”

During Tuesday’s press conference, Boomer and Cox’s mother Doreen Coleman spoke out about what caring for Cox has and will look like for his family and friends down the line.

They joined nationally prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump in arguing that the cops accountable for Cox’s condition should have faced more severe criminal charges and they pushed back against the Elicker administration’s response to a $100 million civil lawsuit filed by Cox that claims governmental immunity and that points to Cox’s ​“contributory negligence.” Read more about that legal back and forth here.

Attorney Lou Rubano, who is one of the lead lawyers in Cox’s $100 million civil lawsuit in federal court, said that Cox was discharged from his bed in Gaylord Hospital after the discovery that he would never walk again. He was discharged due to the capacity of the facility and the inability of Cox’s family to afford such steep medical expenses. 

Cox is now staying at Apple Rehab in West Haven, where he is the only paralyzed individual. His family says the rehabilitation center does not have the equipment or tools to adequately care for Cox, who needs to be turned over in bed every three hours.

“He should be getting the best care possible,” Rubano said on Tuesday, noting that without proper medical attention Cox’s condition could quickly worsen and arguing that Cox needs 24-hour care.

He also shared that a life care expert who flew into Connecticut last week to assess Cox’s condition said that it would likely cost at least $20 million over the course of Cox’s lifetime to adequately cover his medical needs. 

“It’s hard for me to say this because I know Randy’s listening, but if he doesn’t get care, his life expectancy is compromised. It is severely compromised,” Crump said.

Cox’s sister Latoya Boomer and mother Doreen Coleman said that they spend virtually all of their time outside of work hours with Cox. Coleman stated that she she ​“catch[es] the bus from one side of town to another,” which takes about an hour each day, to bring Cox regular meals and make sure he doesn’t have to wait for nurses to come by his room so he can get a sip of water.

In Cox’s case, officers denied the 36-year-old proper medical care after arresting 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.

Crump said on Tuesday that he believed the officers arrested for Cox’s injuries should have been charged with felonies, such as assault in the first degree. 

He said that it is common for the state to reach out to affected family members for consultation concerning charges linked to comparatively tragic incidents. For example, Crump said that the day before Tuesday’s presser, he had been present in Buffalo, New York, ​“where the Black people got killed in the supermarket” in May. There, he learned that state prosecutors, for example, had reached out to family members of the individuals murdered at that scene to talk about the charges facing the mass shooter who has since pled guilty.

“They could’ve reached out to us,” he said of the state.

Crump also urged the city to retract statements made in a recent lawsuit rebuttal that Cox had contributed to his own paralysis: ​“I challenge anybody to look at that video,” he said, referencing body camera footage of the officers dragging Cox’s limp body across the police department floor into a cell, ​“and say what Randy did to cause this.” 

Local attorney R.J. Weber, another lead lawyer on the $100 million civil lawsuit, urged members of the public to show up for the criminal court dates for each officer (all five are expected to appear at the state courthouse on Elm Street on Dec. 8). He said his legal team is specifically looking out for applications from the officers for accelerated rehabilitation, a program that could result in the dismissal of all charges based on a variety of conditions, one of which would be that ​“what happened to Randy Cox was not a crime of a serious nature.”

He said first and foremost he and Cox’s other representatives are focused on ​“eliminating the opportunity for these officers to have their crimes ultimately dismissed.”

Elicker: Court Filing Was Legally "Appropriate"

Mayor Justin Elicker then responded to Cox’s family and legal team. He said that the city is simply following due process by filing a rebuttal to Cox’s lawsuit and pursuing an internal investigation into how the officers should be disciplined now that the state investigation has concluded.

In the meantime, he said, the city has upgraded its transportation policies and department-wide training on ​“active bystandership” and deescalation in hopes of avoiding a similar future incident.

Asked whether he agrees with the claims made in the city’s court filing that Cox’s own ​“negligence” contributed to his ultimate paralysis, Elicker said that ​“I represent the city and the lawyers advised us that this is an appropriate legal filing.”

Crump once again stood up to speak after Elicker, contesting his claims concerning the inevitably lengthy process of legal consultations. ​“The insurance companies need to be instructed to tender their policies,” he said. Turning directly to Elicker he said, ​“If you want something to be done, it gets done… you have it within your capacity.”

Earlier on Tuesday, city police union President Florencio Cotto sent the following comment about the five New Haven officers’ arrests: 

“All five police officers involved in the incident in which Mr. Randy Cox was injured were arrested yesterday at Troop F in Westbrook, Connecticut. All of the officers turned themselves into authorities and were released on a court set bond of $25,000.00. All five officers will be arraigned at the G.A. court in New Haven on December 8th.

“These arrests are only one part of the processes these officers will face. The internal investigation phase is next, and the Police Union will be intimately involved in that portion of the case. The Civil Court case is ongoing and the Union, just like the Criminal Cases, plays a support role as the officer’s legal representation is either provided by the City or by private counsel. This case, as a whole, is a continuing tragedy for all involved. Mr. Cox, the City, the Police Department and the Officers involved all are dealing with the life changing events of June 19th. The Union will continue to support the officers during this ordeal. Guilt, innocence, liability or culpability will be determined later. For now, due process and the protections it provides, must be honored so that this case is handled in the most prudent, proper and professional manner possible.

“The Union will make no further comments at this time as the internal cases are active and underway.”