NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The family of Richard Cox, a New Haven man paralyzed on June 19 while in custody of the New Haven Police Department, has released a photo of him intubated, unconscious, and still unable to move from his mid-chest down. The Mayor's nominee for Police Chief said he is eager to face this challenge that awaits.
The life-altering injury occurred when a handcuffed Cox slid head first into the wall of the police van he was being transported in when the officer driving the van slammed on his brakes to avoid crashing with another vehicle.
At the time of the tragic incident, only one of three New Haven Police transport vans was equipped with seatbelts.
The van Cox was being transported to the police station detention center in featured hand straps, which police body camera footage shows officer Oscar Diaz never alerted Cox.
Assistant Police Chief Karl Jacobson, who could be confirmed as the new chief as soon as next Tuesday, has been with the department for 15 years and is very anxious about the opportunity to right the ship.
"We’ve already begun to look at all the policies and procedures related to transport, asking people if they’re injured, what we do when someone says they’re injured," Jacobson said Wednesday afternoon in his office.
Jacobson said one of his top priorities will be implementing his legitimacy and procedural justice plan, which is simply giving everyone a voice.
"Due to this (Cox) incident, we’ve lost some of the communities trust and we need to get it back," Jacobson said. "So we’ve gotta start this stuff right away."
At Tuesday evening's Town Hall Meeting, hosted by the NAACP, Jacobson said the police department is with the community in wanting justice for Randy Cox, as his family and friends refer to him.
"We’re gonna do everything possible to make sure that this doesn’t happen again and that Randy Cox gets a fair shake and we pray, I told his family last night, many police officers in this building are praying for a speedy recovery," said Jacobson.
He said if he’s fortunate enough to be confirmed Tuesday and sworn in next Wednesday, he is going to make sure there is stability in the department's command staff, which has had its share of unfilled positions for a long while.
"With a lack of consistency (in high-level staffing), you see complacency and then these types of incidents might happen and we can’t have incidents like this happen ever again," Jacobson emphasized.
To that end, in addition to filling the command staff, the 24-year veteran of policing says it’s time to get back to true community policing.
"To put out some walking beats, have community events, and have more community meetings," he said.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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