Judge rejects officers’ bid to erase charges in the case of a man paralyzed after police van ride

By DAVE COLLINS
Associated Press

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A judge has rejected an attempt by four former Connecticut police officers to have criminal charges against them erased in the case of a man who was paralyzed in the back of a police van in 2022. The former New Haven officers’ applications for a pretrial probation program were rejected Thursday in the case of Richard “Randy” Cox. Their bid could also have averted trial, but the cases now head forward. A fifth officer who was arrested also applied for the special probationary program but wasn’t in court Thursday. The officers were charged with misdemeanors for allegedly mistreating Cox after he flew head first into a metal partition when the police van he was in braked suddenly.