By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- An arbitration board unanimously ruled July 20 that New Haven Police Officer Luis Rivera should not have been terminated in connection with the June 2022 incident that left detainee Richard “Randy” Cox partially paralyzed.
- Rivera was one of five officers arrested on misdemeanor charges after Cox was placed in a transport van without proper restraint and subsequently injured; his criminal case was dismissed February 13, 2026.
- The arbitration board determined that Rivera lacked sufficient medical training to recognize Cox’s paralysis and found that medical personnel at the detention facility also failed to identify the injury.
- Rivera returned to active duty July 27 and was directed to complete police academy retraining and recertifications.
- Officer Oscar Diaz, the transport van driver, was reinstated in January 2024; a sergeant involved in the incident appealed her termination but was denied in July 2024.
NEW HAVEN, CONN. — An arbitration board ruling has restored the employment status of Officer Luis Rivera following his termination in connection with the June 19, 2022 incident involving detainee Richard “Randy” Cox, who sustained partial paralysis while in police custody.
Cox was transported in a police vehicle without being properly secured. During transport, Cox sustained spinal injuries resulting in partial paralysis. Upon arrival at the detention facility, officers removed Cox from the vehicle and forcibly moved him into a holding cell. Officers initially believed Cox was heavily intoxicated rather than medically injured.
Rivera was among five officers arrested on misdemeanor charges stemming from Cox’s transport and handling at the detention facility. He was subsequently terminated by the New Haven Police Department.
On February 13, 2026, a judge dismissed criminal charges against Rivera and two other officers involved in the incident. Criminal charges against the remaining two officers were resolved through guilty pleas with sentence avoidance negotiated.
On July 20, the state’s arbitration board issued a unanimous decision that Rivera’s termination was not justified. The board determined that Rivera did not possess sufficient medical training to recognize that Cox had sustained a serious spinal injury. The board noted that medical personnel at the detention facility also failed to identify Cox’s injuries.
The board’s decision stated that Cox was indeed heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident, supporting officers’ initial assessment regarding his condition. The board further determined that none of Rivera’s interactions with Cox were discourteous or disrespectful.
Regarding the extent of injury causation, the board stated that it was “unknown and likely unknowable” whether Cox’s injuries were exacerbated by officers’ movement of him from the transport vehicle into the detention facility after the initial spinal damage occurred during transport.
Rivera returned to active duty as a New Haven Police officer effective July 27. He was directed to report to the police academy to complete required retraining and recertification procedures.
Officer Oscar Diaz, who was operating the transport vehicle during the June 2022 incident, had previously appealed his termination and was reinstated in January 2024. A sergeant involved in supervising the detention facility scene appealed her termination in 2024 but was denied reinstatement in July 2024.