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Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced on Tuesday that he will be representing a 36-year-old man who was severely injured in a police van while being transported to a jail in Connecticut.
The incident occurred on June 19th when authorities in New Haven found Richard “Randy” Cox walking around a block party with a bottle of alcohol and a concealed gun.
Authorities arrested Cox on gun charges because he is a convicted felon and was in possession of a gun.
Cox was initially placed into a police cruiser but transferred to a police van with no backseat belts.
Police video shows the driver of the police van suddenly slam on the breaks which causes Cox to go flying head-first into one of the van’s barriers.
Cox then starts calling out for help as the driver talks to him through the barrier.
The driver eventually pulled over to check on Cox who is seen stuck between the seat and a wall on the floor of the van.
The driver informs Cox that he can not move him from the van without another officer. He then calls for an ambulance but tells them to meet him at the police station. He then continues to drive to the police station.
Once at the station, other officers speak to Cox before they unhandcuff him and drag him out of the vehicle.
He is briefly placed into a wheelchair and brought to processing before officers drag him into a holding cell and leave him on the floor.
According to the report, Cox was transported to an area hospital later that day where doctors confirmed that Cox was paralyzed from the chest down.
Cox remains in an intensive care unit.
Crump claims that not only was Cox mistreated by officers but that his civil rights were violated:
“I am here because when I looked at that video, it shocked my conscience,” Crump said. “And I believe when you all see that video, it’s going to shock your conscience. The only question is, why when the police look at Randy Cox saying, ‘I can’t move,’ why doesn’t it shock their conscience?”
The legal team expects to file a federal lawsuit within 60 days. They are waiting to review all of the evidence in the case, including more than two hours of video.
Two officers were placed on paid leave and three others were reassigned following an internal affairs investigation.
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