Two police officers charged for their alleged involvement in the arrest of Randy Cox — a Black man paralyzed while in police custody — were fired from the New Haven Police Department on Wednesday for their conduct during the June 19, 2022, incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the city of New Haven, four of six members of the New Haven Board of Police Commissioners voted to terminate Officers Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera. Two members abstained from the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is an absolute rush to judgment,” Lavandier’s attorney Dan Ford told ABC News in a statement on Thursday. “At a minimum the City should have waited for the judicial process to play out before terminating Officer Lavandier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attorneys for Rivera did not immediately respond to ABC News\u2019 requests for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lavandier and Rivera are among five officers who were charged on Nov. 28, 2022,<\/u><\/a> for their involvement in the arrest of Richard \u201cRandyCox\u2019s attorney, Jack O\u2019Donnell, told ABC News in a phone interview on Thursday that Cox is \u201cpleased\u201d with the commission\u2019s decision to terminate the officers, but their termination is \u201ca long time coming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt seems like far too long for [Randy\u2019s] liking, but we’re grateful for the outcome,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201d Cox, who was paralyzed due to injuries he sustained while in custody of the New Haven Police Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The vote to terminate the officers came during a special meeting on Wednesday to consider New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson\u2019s recommendation to terminate four of the officers involved in the incident<\/u><\/a> \u2013 Lavandier, Rivera, Oscar Diaz and Betsy Segui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ronald Pressley, who was also charged in the incident, had since retired from the police department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jacobson said in March that his recommendation came after an internal investigation and hearings that yielded enough information to pursue termination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think the days of waiting for criminal cases to conclude needs to stop; that’s one of the things the community has asked us to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The board\u2019s vote on Jacobson\u2019s recommendation to terminate Segui and Diaz was postponed to June 28 because the officer\u2019s attorneys wereGregory Cerittelli, the attorney representing Segui, told ABC News in a statement on Thursday that Sgt. Segui is \u201cstill employed by the City of New Haven, but I have every reason to believe the police commission will terminate her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is absolutely no due process afforded these officers at police commission hearings generally, and especially in New Haven. The only thing missing from that room will be a large marsupial,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cerittelli told ABC News in Jan. 2023<\/u><\/a> that the \u201cjob of a police officer has become increasingly more difficult in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Police officers are often required to utilize their best judgment in assessing situations, and are now being judged with the benefit of 20\/20 hindsight. Our Supreme Court has consistently held this is not the appropriate standard,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ABC News has reached out to the New Haven Police Department for further comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attorneys representing Diaz and Pressley did not immediately respond to ABC News\u2019 requests for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officers arrested Cox on June 19, 2022,<\/u><\/a> for criminal possession of a firearm and breach of peace. Surveillance video shows the officers then placed Cox in the back of a police van without seat belts. During an abrupt stop, Cox was thrown headfirst into the back wall of the van.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Video shows that though Cox repeatedly asked for help, saying he couldn’t move, the officers did not immediately render him medical aid and allegedly assumed he was drunk when they arrived at the police station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The video footage also shows the officers dragging Cox by his feet and throwing him into a wheelchair, which his lawyers said could have exacerbated his already life-threatening injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said in a statement<\/u><\/a> on Wednesday that what happened to Cox was \u201cunacceptable\u201d and the board\u2019s decision to terminate the officers is \u201canother important step\u201d in the city\u2019s commitment to provide \u201caccountability, transparency and action\u201d to Cox\u2019s family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen an individual enters the custody of the New Haven Police Department, there is an obligation to treat them with dignity and respect and in a manner that ensures their safety and well-being,\u201d Elicker said. \u201cIn my judgment, the actions of these officers fell far short of that obligation, and they do not reflect the high standards to which I know our police officers hold themselves to every day as they put their lives on the line to protect and serve our residents and keep our community safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n O\u2019Donnell said that as the one-year anniversary of the incident approaches, \u201c[Randy’s] as good as can be expected,\u201d but \u201chas his moments where he’s particularly sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe’s virtually a quadriplegic and going to be confined to a wheelchair with no real quality of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In June 2022 all five officers were placed on paid administrative leave. And in October 2022, all charges against Cox were dropped, according to the New Haven Superior Court clerk’s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New Haven’s state attorney John P. Doyle, Jr. announced<\/u><\/a> on November 28, 2022, that each of the officers were charged with one count of second-degree reckless endangerment and one count of cruelty to persons. Both charges are misdemeanors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n