June 10 (UPI) — A record $45 million settlement has been reached in a police brutality suit brought against New Haven, Conn., by Randy Cox, who was paralyzed from the neck down while in police custody last year.
Cox’s attorneys sued the police department and city of New Haven for $100 million in September, four months after Cox was injured while in police custody.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker announced Friday that $15 million of the settlement would come from the city while the remaining $30 million would come from its insurance.
The figure of $45 million was agreed upon by all parties, the mayor said in a statement distributed to media outlets.
“When an individual enters police custody, there is an obligation to treat them with dignity and respect and in a manner that ensures their safety and well-being,” he said. “That did not happen with Randy. He entered police custody being able to walk, and he left police custody paralyzed with his life and health forever altered.”
The settlement is the largest ever reached in a police misconduct case.
Cox was arrested by New Haven police on gun charges in June 2022 and transported in a police van without a seat belt being attached. While police were transporting Cox, the driver of the van slammed the brakes, causing Cox to strike his head inside the van, paralyzing him from the neck down.
“This historic settlement reflects the commitment of New Haven leadership to fully value Randy Cox’s life and support him through the difficult journey ahead,” Cox family attorneys Ben Crump and R.J. Weber Louis Rubano said in an issued statement.
The settlement comes two days after the New Haven Board of Police Commissioners decided to expel two police officers who have been charged in the case, Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera, in a 4-2 vote.
The committee will rule later this month on whether to fire two other officers who were charged in case, Betsy Segui and Oscar Diaz.
The five officers were charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons in November.
A fifth officer who was charged, Ronald Pressley, retired in January.