The New Haven, Connecticut Board of Police Commissioners voted to fire two more police officers involved in the Richard “Randy” Cox case.
Cox was left paralyzed after the police van he was in skidded to a stop, throwing him forward against the wall of the van.
Officers Betsy Segui and Oscar Diaz were fired during Wednesday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting. A motion to recommend their dismissal was filed and because it passed, the officers are automatically fired, according to the mayor’s office.
Officers Jocelyn Lavandier and Louis Riviera were fired earlier this month after the board voted to terminate their employment with the police department.
Five officers were there when Cox arrived at the detention center on June 19, 2022. One of those officers retired. The other four have since been laid off.
Police Chief Karl Jacobson previously recommended that the four officers be fired following an internal affairs investigation.
“What happened to Randy Cox was unacceptable and the Board of Police Commissioners’ vote to accept Chief Jacobson’s recommendations to fire these officers was the right one,” Mayor Justin Elicker said earlier this month.
The case fueled legislation that passed both the House and Senate that requires the police officer training and standards council to develop policies requiring seat belts for anyone being transported in a municipal vehicle.
Cox was paralyzed from the chest down. The City of New Haven quickly initiated its own policies requiring seat belt use shortly after the incident.
Last year, Cox’s attorneys filed a $100 million lawsuit against the City of New Haven and the New Haven Police Department. The City of New Haven and Cox’s legal team have since agreed to continue settlement negotiations in the civil case.
