New Haven police are changing and implementing new safety protocols for transporting inmates after an incident left a man paralyzed and on a ventilator.
The incident that left 36-year-old Randy Cox paralyzed was caught on camera inside a police transport van.
Cox was picked up by police on June 19 on several charges. He was placed in the van without a seatbelt and slid headfirst into the back interior wall, slamming his head.
Officers failed to give Cox medical attention when he asked for it. It was not only until after he was placed in a jail cell that he received aid, according to officials.
Video of the incident has now sparked changes within the New Haven Police Department, where they announced new procedures and protocols Thursday.
Some of those changes include the use of police cruisers only for transporting inmates, all inmates must wear a seatbelt and officers are required to immediately call for an ambulance if an inmate requests it.
The new police chief and mayor held a news conference Thursday announcing the changes. They stressed their commitment to making sure something like this never happens again.
State Sen. Gary Winfield, a strong supporter of police accountability laws, says the initiatives announced by police should be a statewide policy.
“I think what we should be doing is learning from what we are seeing in other places, listening to the community, the issues they have and adjusting policies to match the realities that might come to us someday,” said Winfield.
The five officers involved in this incident are now on paid leave.