An arrestee who was being transported on a police patrol in Connecticut is fighting for his life after his neck was broken when his head hit a wall as a result of the vehicle driver unexpectedly braking.
Richard Cox, aged 36, was arrested on 19 June for possession of an illegal weapon. While the suspect was being transported in the unbelted vehicle to the New Haven Police Department, the driver slammed on the brakes causing the suspect to hit his head against a wall.
Security camera footage they show the moment in which the man is paralyzed after the blow. Later, an officer comes to check, while Cox remains lying on the ground on his back.
The suspect, of African American origin, insists that he cannot move due to the blow.
The driver continues to the detention center while calling an ambulance.
Upon arriving at the police station, agents grab him from behind to remove him from the vehicle and place him in a wheelchair.
An agent insists that he sit down, but Cox cannot keep himself stable in the chair, so the officers drag him to the cell.
Ben Crump, attorney for Cox and his family, described the treatment he received as inhuman and horrendous to the detainee.
“Est or it is shocking, this is horrendous, this is unacceptable, this is inhumane,” said Crump, who has intervened in several cases involving African-Americans injured or killed by police officers.
“We are better than this, New Haven. We are better than this, America. How many more times do we have to see black people being violated at the hands of those who are supposed to be there to protect and serve them?”, Questioned the lawyer as quoted by Connecticut Public this week.
Five officers remain on administrative leave until the end of the state police investigation.
At the moment, Cox remains hospitalized with his body paralyzed from the neck down. The patient is on a ventilator.
Interim New Haven Police Chief Regina Rush-Kittle said last week that officers’ handling of Cox is unacceptable and that the department is committed to ensuring that such an event does not occur again.
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