NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has joined the legal team of Richard 'Randy' Cox, a 36-year-old Black man who was injured while being transported by New Haven police in the back of a van.
Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesNEW HAVEN, Conn. — Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has joined the legal team of Richard"Randy" Cox, a 36-year-old Black man who was injured while being transported by New Haven police in the back of a van.
During an abrupt stop, Cox was thrown head-first into the back wall of the van, his lawyers said, and the video shows. When the van arrived at the police station, the video shows, he was still lying on the floor of the vehicle. Cox can be heard in the video telling the officers that he couldn't move.
The case has prompted a state investigation and resulted in the officers involved being placed on administrative duty. Cox's oldest sister, LaQuavius LeGrant, 39, said although he is in stable condition, Cox is currently paralyzed from the neck down, requiring a ventilator, breathing tube and feeding tube to survive. He is currently unable to talk and is unlikely to walk again, she said.
"I don't want to see my son in that damn room with that thing on his neck, on his face," she said."I want him to keep coming in and out of the house, saying, 'You alright? You need to go eat,' or 'You need something?' Now I don't know how long it's going to be before he gets to go outside."