Former MMA fighter/paramedic fired after kicking homeless man in head
Brad Cox, a former professional mixed martial artist and Dallas, Texas paramedic has been fired after new video surfaced showing him kicking an unarmed homeless man.
Police initially cleared Cox of wrongdoing despite bodycam video that showed him kicking Kyle Vess once in the face while he was being held on suspicion of starting a grass fire. The police department’s public integrity unit initially determined that Cox acted in self-defense and he was not charged.
A second video showed a more prolonged attack, which left Vess with a fractured eye socket, fractured sinus, and broken teeth. Vess has sued Cox and the city and is demanding the paramedic be charged. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot has said his office “dropped the ball” while investigating Cox in 2019.
The above videos are provided courtesy The Dallas Morning News.
Dallas-Fire Rescue fired Cox. He is “no longer a member of the department” spokesman Jason Evans said.
Dallas police said Vess, a 32-year-old man with a mental illness similar to schizophrenia, was setting fires along the Interstate 30 frontage road in West Dallas on Aug. 2, 2019.
Cox attempted to put the fires out and in video provided by police, showed Cox say something to Vess, and then proceed to kick the homeless man in the face. Vess then stood up and approached Cox. Cox then punched Vess and knocked him to the ground.
Vess was initially charged with assaulting a paramedic, but Creuzot’s office dropped the charge last week.
Brad Cox has not competed in MMA since 2013, leaving the sport with a pro record of 3-1.
