Dallas Fire Department Fire Fighter/Paramedic Brad Cox will not be charged with a felony as per last week’s Grand Jury. Prosecutors were seeking an indictment of injury to a disabled person. Cox’s engine was reportedly called to a grass fire on a section of frontage road along interstate 30 in 2019. Cox is seen on video extinguishing the grass fire with his foot when surveillance video shows Kyle Vess moving towards Cox swinging his fists. Cox, a former professional mixed martial arts fighter with a record of 3 wins and 1 loss who last fought in June of 2013 (Sherdog, n.d.) moved away from Vess to maintain enough distance to prevent being struck. The attack disappears behind the fire engine but reemerges with Vess falling to the ground and Cox moving towards Vess and kicking him multiple times in the area of the head while he was on the ground. Police body camera footage takes over and shows Cox telling Vess to get up and continues punching and kicking him. Police tased Vess ending the conflict.
Dallas district attorney John Creuzot stated the statute of limitations has passed, but his office is currently reviewing the situation to determine if the disabled persons statue applies in this situation, which has a statue of limitations of 5 years. The Dallas Morning News stated that Cox’s attorney is arguing that there is no way Cox could have known that Vess was disabled. Vess was reportedly diagnosed with a mental illness like schizophrenia and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Vess’ family has filed a civil lawsuit against Cox alleging that he fractured Vess’ orbit and caused nerve damage to his fac.
The Dallas Morning News also reports that Cox was counseled by the Dallas FD in 2011 for “unacceptable conduct” when he did not attend to a patient in the back of the ambulance that was “…rushed…” to the hospital. And in 2016, Cox was faced criminal charges and a federal lawsuit when he cleared a man to be taken to jail with a visible head injury. Fletcher was “later found brain dead…” in the jail and died from the injury. Cox and his partner faced federal felony charges when it was determined that they falsely documented that the police department transported the patient prior to their arrival. Cox “…plead guilty to a misdemeanor in exchange for deferred adjudication,” which allowed him to avoid a conviction if he successfully completed the terms of his probation, which Cox did in 2020.
The video of the fight can be viewed by following this link, Dallas paramedic punching, kicking, hitting man. The news video also reports that Cox is on paid administrative leave and has not been terminated is that title of the article states.
Sherdog.com (n.d.). Brad Cox. Retrieved from https://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Brad-Cox-61742.
Torralva, K. (2022, Aug. 15). TX Grand Jury Declines to Indict Former Paramedic for Kicking, Hitting Man. JEMS Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.jems.com/news/tx-grand-jury-declines-to-indict-former-paramedic-for-kicking-hitting-man/.