Patel was able to walk to the court, with some help..
By Raif Karerat
Follow @ambazaarmag
An Alabama police officer goes on trial Tuesday to face federal charges of using excessive force after he brutalized an elderly Indian man unprovoked, partially paralyzing the victim in the process.
Madison police officer Eric Sloan Parker, 26 is charged with violating the civil rights of 58-year-old Sureshbhai Patel who was visiting from Gujarat, India, and staying with his son near Huntsville in February and was walking in the neighborhood when police received a call about a suspicious person walking in the area.
Police video showed two officers struggling to communicate with Patel because of language differences. Unfortunately for Patel, when the officers began questioning him all he could respond with was “no English†and “India†as he pointed to his son’s residence and repeated the house number.
After a few moments, an officer slammed Patel to the ground face-first as another officer stood by.
Patel arrived for court early on Tuesday, “steadying himself on a walker as he slowly moved down the sidewalk outside the federal courthouse in Huntsville,” according to the Associated Press. Patel is expected to testify through a translator but will need the walker to get to the stand, stated his lawyer, Hank Sherrod.
“He’s not fully recovered and isn’t expected to fully recover,” said Sherrod. “His improvement is very, very slow right now.”
Court documents show Madison Police Chief Larry Muncey is expected to testify for prosecutors that Parker’s actions violated department procedures. The AP reported that Muncey publicly apologized to Patel after the incident and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley called Patel’s treatment a case of “excessive force” in an apologetic letter to the Indian government.
Parker was fired by the city of Madison, but he appealed and the termination process is on hold until criminal charges are resolved. Parker also faces an assault charge at the state level, and Patel filed an additional federal lawsuit seeking an unspecified amount of compensation for his injuries.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Parker is free on bond. Court documents indicate the defense will present testimony to show Parker’s actions were justified and that he didn’t mean to harm Patel.
Parker, dressed in civilian clothes rather than a police uniform, also was in court accompanied by his attorney.
2 Comments
This WHITE PIG deserves no mercy at all, HE SHOULD BE SHOT DEAD,
Just because some useless pervert bastard scoundrel called 911 and informed
of a (suspicious) person means then this white scoundrel should have
observed and inquired about whether it is true or not and then he should
have given a talk more than subdueing the person and making him
paralysed.
also
that pervert bastard scoundrel should also be booked for unwanted
doubting and causing manslaughter by way of paralysing a person.
This WHITE PIG deserves no mercy at all, HE SHOULD BE SHOT DEAD,
Just because some useless pervert bastard scoundrel called 911 and informed
of a (suspicious) person means then this white scoundrel should have
observed and inquired about whether it is true or not and then he should
have given a talk more than subdueing the person and making him
paralysed.
also
that pervert bastard scoundrel should also be booked for unwanted
doubting and causing manslaughter by way of paralysing a person.