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Ofc. Diaz, Sgt. Segui, and Ofc. Pressley lifting Cox into wheelchair.
Five city cops have been arrested on two misdemeanor charges apiece for their roles in the June 19 incident that left 36-year-old New Havener Richard “Randy” Cox injured and paralyzed while in police custody.
The state police and state’s attorney’s office sent out separate email press releases Monday afternoon about those arrests. Mayor Justin Elicker, city Police Chief Karl Jacobson, and city Corporation Counsel Patricia King hosted their own press conference on the second floor of City Hall Monday afternoon to discuss the newly filed charges.
New Haven Police Sgt. Betsy Segui and Officers Oscar Diaz, Ronald Pressley, Luis Rivera, and Jocelyn Lavandier were all arrested on Monday.
Each was 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, then were released from custody after posting $25,000 bonds.
Each arrested officer is next scheduled to appear at the state courthouse on Elm Street on Dec. 8 as their respective criminal cases work their way through court.
All five sets of charges stem from the officers’ roles in the June 19 arrest, transportation, and detention-center processing of Cox, a 36-year-old New Havener who remains paralyzed from the chest down after suffering a severe injury to his spine during his time in police custody.
Click here to read the arrest warrants for each of the five city police officers.
Thomas Breen photo
Mayor Elicker (center) with Corp Counsel King and Chief Jacobson.
“Based on today’s arrests, it is clear that the state’s attorney believes there is probable cause” to arrest the officers on these charges because of their actions that night, Elicker said on Monday.
“Ultimately, the final verdict will be appropriately decided through the criminal justice system. I’m glad to see the process is moving forward to ensure that justice is being served.”
Elicker and Jacobson said that these officers’ arrests now allow the New Haven Police Department to resume its own Internal Affairs (IA) investigation into the June 19 incident. Once the IA investigation is complete, Jacobson will then decide if and how to discipline the officers.
“I respect the state’s attorney’s decision,” Jacobson said about Monday’s arrests. “We want the process to continue.”
Jacobson described Monday’s arrests as part of the “accountability and transparency process” related to this incident in particular, and to the local police department more broadly. “You can make mistakes,” he said about his message to fellow city police officers, “but you can’t treat people poorly. Period. You cannot treat people the way Mr. Cox was treated” that night.
At Monday's presser.
Monday’s police officers’ arrests come more than five 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.
Meanwhile, all five police officers involved in this incident remain on paid administrative leave as the state’s attorney’s office moves forward with prosecuting the officers and as the city police department resumes its own internal investigation. In the wake of the incident, the city has also upgraded its transportation policies and department-wide training on “active bystandership” and deescalation in hopes of avoiding a similar future incident.
In a separate ongoing civil lawsuit in federal court, Randy Cox has sued the city and the five individual officers seeking $100 million in damages for the cops’ alleged violations of the paralyzed 36-year-old New Havener’s constitutional rights. In a flurry of recent court filings, four of the five officers claimed that their actions were reasonable and covered by “qualified immunity,” arguing that the paralyzing injuries suffered by Cox while in police custody stemmed in large part from his own “negligence and carelessness.” The Elicker Administration has also invoked “governmental immunity” and pointed to Cox’s “contributory negligence” in a separate recent court filing.
On Monday, Elicker and King defended that filing as preserving the city’s rights during the ongoing legal process.
“The City of New Haven remains committed to pursuing an expedited resolution on all the issues raised in the lawsuit,” Elicker said. He said the city would prefer to settle this case if possible instead of going to trial.
"We Will Continue To Push Forward"
Cox's attorneys R.J. Weber and Jack O'Donnell.
After Monday’s City Hall press conference, attorney R.J. Weber, who is representing Cox in his ongoing federal civil lawsuit, stood alongside Cox’s criminal defense attorney, Jack O’Donnell, to respond to the news of the arrests.
“We’re pleased to see the state’s attorney’s office and the criminal justice system at work,” Weber said. “As a victim, we want to ensure that Randy Cox’s views are made known to the state’s attorney’s office.”
Weber stressed “what’s happened here today is never going to change the fact that Randy Cox is paralyzed from the neck down and that his life since June 19, 2022 has been irreparably altered. This is the rest of his life,” he said.
State NAACP President Esdaile (left) at July rally for Cox.
Reached by phone on Monday, state NAACP President Scot X. Esdaile — who has taken the lead alongside Cox’s family and his local and national legal team in publicly criticizing what happened to Cox on June 19 and in pushing for the officers to be held accountable — agreed with Weber that today’s arrests don’t change Cox’s lifelong injuries.
“When Randy went into that police van, he could walk,” Esdaile said. “And now he’s paralyzed for life. And this is the reality that many face in the Black community when they face law enforcement.”
Esdaile also called Elicker “pretty hypocritical” because of the city’s recent federal court filings invoking “governmental immunity” and “contributory negligence” as the mayor also calls publicly for a negotiated settlement.
“It seems like the mayor’s speaking out of both sides of his mouth,” Esdaile said. “He’s not to be trusted. We know there’s a long road to justice.”
“Just because they were charged,” Esdaile added about the five police officers, “doesn’t mean they’ll be convicted. We will continue to push forward.”
And in an email press release sent out Monday afternoon, nationally prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the following about the arrests of these five officers: “While today’s news that these officers will face some accountability is an important first step towards justice for Randy, we know there is more work to be done on his behalf. We will continue to fight for him throughout this process, and stand beside him as he navigates the long road toward recovery.”