Connecticut cops indicted for incident that left Black suspect paralyzed

On Monday, The New York Times reported that five Connecticut police officers have been charged in connection with an incident that left a Black suspect paralyzed.

"The man, Randy Cox, 36, was being taken to a police station in New Haven on June 19 on a weapons-related charge. He smashed headfirst into the van’s side, and the incident was captured on video," reported Sarah Maslin Nir. "The officers appeared to treat him callously following his injuries, mocking his inability to sit up, police video and audio released by lawyers for his family show."

"On Monday the five officers involved, Oscar Diaz, Ronald Pressley, Jocelyn Lavandier, Luis Rivera and Sgt. Betsy Segui, who face reckless endangerment and cruelty charges, turned themselves in at Connecticut State Police barracks, according to the state police," the report continued. "They have each been released on $25,000 bond, with a court date set for Dec. 8."

According to the report, attorneys representing the officers have not yet offered comment.

The incident has echoes of the nationally-publicized death of Freddie Gray in West Baltimore in 2015. Gray was being transported in the back of a police van, and died after the way he was restrained caused him to be tossed around sharply in the back of a BPD van, nearly severing his spinal cord; autopsy results suggested his head had been slammed against a hard surface. Prosecutors alleged the way police restrained Gray amounted to reckless endangerment; three of the officers involved in the incident were acquitted, and charges against a fourth ended in mistrial.

This comes amid national scrutiny into police conduct, as well as an election where Republicans ran on an aggressive message raising the specter of crime to oppose reforms of the criminal justice system.