Judge Dismisses Charges for New Haven Officers in Randy Cox Paralysis Case

A Connecticut judge has dismissed criminal cases against three current and former New Haven police officers—Oscar Diaz, Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera—who were charged over their treatment of Richard "Randy" Cox, a prisoner left paralyzed in the back of a police van in 2022. Judge David Zagaja granted all three entry into a probationary program that will erase the charges from their records, saying their conduct was not malicious; prosecutors and Cox did not object, and two other officers had already pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment without jail time. Video from the incident shows Cox, who was handcuffed and unbelted, slammed head‑first into a metal partition when Diaz braked hard, then repeatedly begging for help as officers mocked him, accused him of faking, and dragged him into a cell before paramedics were called. New Haven’s mayor said city officials disagreed with the dismissals and reiterated that what happened to Cox was "tragic and awful," while defense lawyers argued their clients did not cause or worsen his injuries and were targeted to deflect from department‑wide failures. The case, which drew NAACP outrage and comparisons to Freddie Gray’s fatal 2015 Baltimore van injury, has already driven policy changes on transport safety and custody handling and will continue to shape national debates over how aggressively officers are prosecuted when detainees suffer catastrophic harm.