The New Haven Board of Police Commissioners has 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 stopped short, and he was thrown forward into the van's wall.
Officers Betsy Segui and Oscar Diaz were fired during Wednesday's Board of Police Commissioners meeting. A motion was made to recommend their dismissal 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.
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Five officers were there when Cox arrived at the detention center on June 19, 2022. One of those officers retired. The other four have all since been fired.
Police Chief Karl Jacobson previously recommended that the four officers be fired following an internal affairs investigation.
“The votes by the Board of Police Commissioners this evening and earlier this month to terminate these officers are important and necessary steps towards ensuring accountability for the mistreatment of Randy Cox while he was in their custody and care," Mayor Justin Elicker said in a statement.
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"From day one, we promised accountability, transparency and action. While nothing can ever return Randy’s life to the way it was prior to this incident, with the police disciplinary process now complete, the civil lawsuit now resolved and the comprehensive set of reforms now adopted by the police department, we have demonstrated clearly and unequivocally as a community that Randy’s life matters, that Black Lives Matter and that we are resolved to do everything in our power to ensure an incident like this never happens again," he continued.
An attorney for Segui and Diaz said they plan to appeal the decision.
"My clients fully expect to continue the fight to be reinstated. While a long and arduous process, my clients, Diaz and Segui, did not deserve to be terminated," the attorney said.
The case fueled legislation that passed both the House and the Senate. It requires the police officer standards and training council to develop policies requiring seatbelts 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 seatbelt 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 pursue settlement negotiations in the civil case.
"This has not been an easy process, but it has been a necessary one - and we are now a stronger city than we were before because of the conversation we've had and the actions we've taken as a community," Elicker said.
