Handcuffed man ‘paralysed’ after breaking neck in police van during abrupt stop
A man has reportedly been left paralysed after he fell from his seat in a moving police van and broke his neck.
Surveillance footage captured the moment Richard Cox slammed against the wall of the vehicle and slumped to the floor.
The 36-year-old had been arrested for possession of an illegal firearm in Connecticut on June 19.
He had been put in the van, which didn’t have seatbelts, in handcuffs. When it braked suddenly, he went flying from the seat and hit his head.
Cox’s attorney says he is now fighting for his life at a local hospital where he is paralysed from the neck down.
He currently is using a breathing tube and can only communicate by nodding and shaking his head, his attorney added.
Footage from within the van shows Cox weakly calling for help until an officer pulls to check on him.
After a brief interaction, the van carries onto the New Haven Police Department.
There, officers can be seen tugging at Cox’s legs and pulling him from the van.
He was then taken to the station’s front desk in a wheelchair before being left facedown on the floor of his cell.
Throughout the clip, Cox can be heard trying to explain the fact he can’t move.
At one point, a police officer comments: ‘he just drank too much’.
Cox’s attorney Ben Crump , who has famously represented the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Trayvon Martin, is now campaigning for answers.
He said: ‘He’s paralyzed from the chest down and has to use a breathing tube – his quality of life is forever diminished.
‘They dismissed his pleas as lies, instead of offering immediate medical aid, officers dragged him off the van & threw him into a wheelchair that may have exacerbated his life threatening injuries.
The incident is under investigation and the officers on-duty have been placed on administrative leave.
A news conference today was attended by Mr Crump and Cox’s family.
His sister, LaQuavius LeGrant, said: ‘It’s absolutely heartbreaking to go to that hospital room, the ICU, to look in his eyes — his eyes are awake — and can’t do anything about it.’
She added: ‘Knowing that he would never walk again possibly, it’s disheartening.
‘What happened is unacceptable and it’s inexcusable.’
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