Ben Crump announces largest police brutality settlement in U.S. history in Randy Cox case

A $45 million settlement has been reached in the civil police brutality case involving Richard "Randy" Cox, a Black man now paralyzed from the chest down following an arrest by police officers in New Haven, Connecticut, nearly a year ago.

The case represents the largest settlement involving police misconduct in U.S. history, which comes two years after the $27 million settlement involving the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day weekend in 2020.

In an interview with the USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the lead attorney in both cases, said Floyd's case was previously the largest settlement involving police brutality. Both cases, he said, were preventable.

"My endeavor has been very consistent. When we set the record with George Floyd with $27 million, I was very clear that what we're trying to do is make it financially unsustainable for the police to continue to violate our constitutional rights and brutalize us unnecessarily and unjustifiably," said Crump, in his first interview following the settlement release.

Five New Haven police officers were charged after Cox was left partially paralyzed while being transported in a police van. Cox had been detained on a weapons charge when he was being driven to a police station on June 19, 2022. The van's driver slammed on the brakes at an intersection to avoid a collision, causing Cox to fly headfirst into a metal partition inside the van.

Minutes after the crash, Cox said, "I can't move. I'm going to die like this. Please, please, please help me," according to a USA TODAY article published Nov. 28, 2022.

As Cox pleaded for help, some of the officers at the detention center mocked him and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries, according to dialogue captured by surveillance and body-worn camera footage

In a statement, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said what happened to Cox was "unacceptable."

“When an individual enters police custody, there is an obligation to treat them with dignity and respect and in a manner that ensures their safety and well-being. That did not happen with Randy: he entered police custody being able to walk, and he left police custody paralyzed with his life and his health forever altered."

Elicker went on to say he and New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson promised accountability, transparency and action following the incident, adding, "we committed to do everything in our power to ensure an incident like this never happens again.

On Wednesday, following a special meeting by the New Haven Board of Police Commissioners, officers Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera were fired for violating officer conduct policies.

Crump, a longtime attorney based in Tallahassee, Fla., who's received a national spotlight for representing minority individuals and families affected by police brutality, said Cox worked in the construction industry before being paralyzed.

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Cox, a 37-year-old father, now lives as a dependent in need of assistance at all times. Crump said the settlement was important to offset the extensive and ongoing healthcare Cox will need for the rest of his life.

"If he wants a sip of water, somebody has to give it to him. If he wants to eat, somebody has to give it to him. If he has to urinate, his diaper has to be change," Crump said. "It's like he's a baby again but in some ways worse."

A history of settlements in police brutality cases

In 2021, the Associated Press highlighted some of the police misconduct settlements in American history.

GEORGE FLOYD

In 2021, Minneapolis city leaders approved a $27 million settlement Friday with the family of George Floyd in a wrongful death lawsuit over his death in police custody that spurred protests worldwide and a national reckoning on racial justice.

At the time it was the largest pretrial civil rights settlement ever. The settlement was announced as jury selection was underway in the trial of Derek Chauvin, a white former city police officer who was later found guilty in the May 25 death of Floyd, who was Black.

Floyd died in police custody on May 25, 2020, when Chauvin pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. As he lay on the ground under Chauvin, Floyd, who was Black, cried out "I can’t breathe" more than 20 times. The incident sparked protests worldwide.

ANDRE HILL

In May 2021, the city of Columbus, Ohio, agreed to pay $10 million to the family of Andre Hill, an unarmed Black man fatally shot by former police officer Adam Coy in December.

Hill, 47, was exiting a garage at a home in Northwest Columbus around 2 a.m. Dec. 22 when he was shot and killed by then-Columbus police officer Adam Coy. Police had responded to a nonemergency disturbance call about a vehicle turning on and off.

Coy did not have his body camera on at the time of the shooting, however, the camera captured video without audio of the shots being fired. Body camera footage from responding officers showed more than 10 minutes passed before Hill was given any medical aid. He died about 30 minutes after the shooting at the hospital.

BREONNA TAYLOR

In 2020, a $12 million settlement for the estate of Breonna Taylor was one of the largest ever paid in the United States in a case of police excessive force and by far the biggest paid out in Louisville for alleged police misconduct.

Taylor, 26, was shot and killed after Louisville Metro Police officers broke down her apartment door March 13 to serve a signed "no-knock" search warrant in connection with a narcotics investigation centered 10 miles away.

The settlement, however, did not admit any wrongdoing on the part of the city or the police, and it prevents Taylor's family from suing again in the future.

LAQUAN McDONALD

Seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot dead by Chicago police in 2014.

Nothing in the city’s recent history has created more distrust of City Hall and the police department than then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s unsuccessful legal battle to keep the dashcam video under wraps that shows Officer Jason Van Dyke shoot McDonald 16 times.

A jury found Van Dyke guilty in October 2018 of second-degree murder and aggravated battery in McDonald’s shooting. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

McDonald’s family sued for $16 million — a million for every bullet — but settled for $5 million.

FREDDIE GRAY

Six Baltimore officers were charged in the April 2015 arrest and in-custody death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man who died after being injured in a Baltimore police van, touching off weeks of protests.

Three officers were acquitted and prosecutors dropped all remaining charges in July 2016 following a hung jury. The U.S. Department of Justice decided not to bring federal civil rights charges.

Gray’s family agreed to a $6.4 million settlement with the city in September 2015.

PHILANDO CASTILE

Jeronimo Yanez, an officer in St. Anthony, Minnesota, was acquitted of manslaughter in the 2016 fatal shooting of Philando Castile.

The Black motorist had just informed the officer that he was carrying a gun. Yanez testified that Castile was pulling his gun out of his pocket despite his commands not to do so.

The case in suburban St. Paul garnered immediate attention because Castile’s girlfriend streamed the aftermath live on Facebook.

Castile’s mother reached a $3 million settlement and his girlfriend was paid $800,000 by the city of St. Anthony and others.

TAMIR RICE

Tamir Rice was 12 years old when he was fatally shot by a white Cleveland police officer in a recreational area in November 2014.

Officers were responding to a report of a man waving a gun. The boy had a pellet gun tucked in his waistband and was shot after the officers’ cruiser skidded to a stop just feet away.

A grand jury in December 2015 declined to indict patrolman Timothy Loehmann, who fired the fatal shot, and training officer Frank Garmback.

The city settled the Rice family’s lawsuit for $6 million.

AKAI GURLEY

Rookie New York City police officer Peter Liang was convicted of manslaughter in the November 2014 death of 28-year-old Akai Gurley.

Liang, an American of Chinese descent, said he was patrolling a public housing high-rise with his gun drawn when a sound startled him and he fired accidentally. A bullet ricocheted off a wall, hitting Gurley.

A judge reduced the conviction to negligent homicide and sentenced Liang to five years’ probation and 800 hours of community service.

The city settled with Gurley’s family for $4.1 million.

MICHAEL BROWN

Michael Brown, an unarmed Black 18-year-old, was fatally shot by a white officer, Darren Wilson, in August 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri.

A grand jury declined to indict Wilson, and the U.S. Justice Department opted against civil rights charges. Wilson later resigned.

The death of Brown led to months of sometimes violent protests and became a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement.

His family received $1.5 million.

ERIC GARNER

Eric Garner, 43, died in July 2014 in New York City after a white officer placed him in a chokehold during an arrest for selling loose cigarettes.

A grand jury declined to indict that officer, or any others involved in the arrest. The Justice Department declined to file civil rights charges after a yearslong investigation.

The city agreed to pay a $6 million civil settlement.

USA TODAY contributed to this article. Contact Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ben Crump: $45M settlement reached in Randy Cox police misconduct case