It began at a New Haven blockparty.
On June 19, police arrested Randy Cox, 36 years old, after he was seen with a gun and without a permit. He was placed in a police van without seatbelts and handcuffed.
To avoid an accident, the officer driving Cox’s van hit the brakes suddenly. Cox fell to his back and hit his head. He then collapsed and called for help.
“Help! I can’t get up,”Cox yelled at the back.
“I can’t hear you,”In body camera footage, the officer spoke.
It took almost four minutes for the officer to check on him. He called for an ambulance to come and meet him at the station.
“I think I broke my neck,”Cox spoke.
Cox was asked to move his legs.
“Why you not listening, bro? I can’t move!”Cox spoke.
“You’re not even trying,”A woman replied.
They lifted Cox from the van and put him in a wheelchair. After being processed, Cox was again taken into custody and placed in a holding cell. He was unable to move.
“Mr. Cox was mistreated. He should have received medical attention immediately,”Karl Jacobson, New Haven Assistant Police Chief, said.
Layota Boomer, Cox’s sister, says her brother is now paralyzed from the chest down.
“It made me sick to my stomach. I couldn’t actually finish the whole video. They should be ashamed of themselves. At some point in time, somebody should have said, ‘Something is not right.’”
Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights lawyer, was hired by the family.
“There needs to be accountability. There needs to be policy changes, so this does not happen to the next marginalized person,”Crump,
Similar to the 2015 Baltimore case involving Freddie Gray, these circumstances are now in place.
chief correspondent Jim Moret demonstrated what it’s like to be in the back of a van with his hands and legs tied. He wore a helmet, pads and a helmet to protect himself against any injury.
“I’m jolted, tossed around, and I feel totally helpless,”Moret.
Cox must use a tube to breathe in order to be paralyzed. In the meantime, an investigation has been launched and officers have been placed on administrative leave.