12 June 2023 , 08:58
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A huge $45million settlement was reached for a man who was paralysed after he was transported handcuffed without a seatbelt in the back of a police van last year.
Attorneys for Randy Cox, 36, said mistakes by the city of New Haven in Connecticut "have been well documented."
They claim the landmark settlement was the largest ever in a police misconduct case.
Mr Cox was paralysed from the chest down on June 19, 2022 when the police van he was in braked hard. He was sent head-first into a metal partition while his hands were cuffed behind his back.
He was reportedly mocked, and accused of faking his injuries and told he was drunk.
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Randy Cox filed suit for $100million"I can't move. I'm going to die like this. Please, please, please help me," Mr Cox said minutes after the crash, according to police video.
Mr Cox had been arrested on charges of threatening a woman with a gun, which were later dismissed.
He was dragged out of the van by his feet and placed in a holding cell prior to his eventual transfer to a hospital.
The case drew outrage from civil rights advocates like the NAACP (New Haven Police)Ben Crump, Louis Rubano and RJ Weber, who represented Mr Cox, said. "Today is a moment to look to the future, so New Haven residents can have confidence in their city and their police department."
The agreement was reached Friday evening following a daylong conference with a federal magistrate judge, Mayor Justin Elicker said.
It came two days after the city fired two police officers who authorities said treated Mr Cox recklessly and without compassion.
Footage from the police video (New Haven Police)In the wake of his suit - he sued the officers and the city for $100 million last year - two officers were fired.
Five officers, including those who were fired, face criminal charges in the case. All have pleaded not guilty.
Mr Cox did not plan to make any public comments over the weekend, Rubano said.
"He kind of relived what happened to him throughout the day yesterday, so it was a very emotional day," the attorney said by phone. "He's unwinding now."
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All prisoners in city vans must now wear seat belts, following reforms (AP)The case drew outrage from civil rights advocates like the NAACP, along with comparisons to the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore.
Mr Cox is Black, while all five officers who were arrested are Black or Hispanic.
Mr Gray, who also was Black, died in 2015 after he suffered a spinal injury while handcuffed and shackled in a city police van.
New Haven police have since adopted reforms that include making sure all prisoners wear seat belts.
The state Senate on June 5 gave final approval to legislation that would require seat belts for all prisoners being transported.
"Randy entered a police transport vehicle being able to walk, and now he's not able to walk," Elicker said at a news conference Saturday.
He said he had spoken with Mr Cox's mother earlier in the day.
"What I shared with her is that while this settlement cannot bring Randy back to his original state when he entered that police transport vehicle, that my hope is that it provides Randy the future medical support and other support that he will need," Elicker said.
"Randy's 36 years old, and we hope he has a long life ahead of him with the kind of support and care that he deserves."