Officials in New Haven, Connecticut, announced prisoner transport and detention reforms Thursday in response to a police van driver braking suddenly while transporting a man in the back of the van, sending him flying headfirst into a metal wall of the vehicle and paralyzing him.
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Cox was arrested on a weapons charge June 19. While handcuffed in the back of the van, which had no seat belts, he flew headfirst into the wall between the cab and back of the van when Officer Oscar Diaz braked hard to avoid a collision, police said.
Diaz resumed driving to the police department, despite Cox calling for help and saying he was injured and couldn’t move, according to police videos and officials. A few minutes later, Diaz stopped the van to check on Cox, who was lying motionless on the floor.
Diaz then called paramedics but told them to meet him at the station instead of waiting for them where he was, a violation of policy, police officials said. Diaz has not returned messages seeking comment.
At the station, officers dragged Cox out of the van by his feet and put him in a wheelchair, police video shows. Police then booked Cox, took him out of the wheelchair and dragged him into a cell, where he was left on the floor. The videos also show officers telling Cox to move despite him showing signs of paralysis.
Paramedics arrived minutes later and took Cox to a hospital, officials said.
Let's recap: Cop brakes van, hard, sending an unbelted prisoner headfirst into a metal wall. Prisoner falls to the floor, paralyzed. Instead of stopping and calling EMS, the cop drives to the cop shop. There, he and other cops drag the prisoner, who has a broken neck, out of the van, drop him in into a wheelchair, dump him on the floor of a cell and then, only then, do they call the paramedics.
And nobody's being charged with anything over this deliberate indifference to the health and welfare of a man in custody? They're lucky the prisoner hasn't died (so far), because a manslaughter or murder charge would possibly result.
One thing is clear: New Haven had better be warming up the city checkbook, as this is going to cost them, a lot. the city's taxpayers may want to ask some hard questions as to why their mill rate is going to go up.
This is basically how Baltimore police killed Freddie Gray back in 2015.
ReplyDeleteAn armed gang terrorizing the population with impunity.
ReplyDeleteNo better than the Crips, the Bloods ...
I must be clairvoyant because soon as I started reading this article I new what color he was. Or maybe because the story has been repeated so many times it has become predictable.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me the driver is a sadist and should be remanded
ReplyDeleteto a mental institution.
Oh, right, they are gone. off to jail then.
Eck!
Deeper,
ReplyDeleteIs not procedure to secure the prisoner using a seat belt?
Seems state and federal law requires that. Or is that
only enforced for us law abiding peons?
Eck!
Why aren't they under arrest? They're cops.
ReplyDelete-Doug in Sugar Pine