Assault of Sureshbhai Patel
DateFebruary 6, 2015 (2015-02-06)
Time9 a.m.
LocationMadison, Alabama, United States
Filmed byTwo police car dashboard cameras
Participants
  • Sureshbhai Patel (injured)
  • Eric Parker (assailant)
  • Unknown caller (who called 911)
Non-fatal injuries1
SuspectsEric Parker
ChargesThird-degree assault
Federal charge of civil rights abuse
ConvictionsMistrial on civil rights violations
LitigationFederal lawsuit asking for unspecified amount

On February 6, 2015, three police officers assaulted, detained, and seriously injured Sureshbhai Patel, a 57-year-old Indian national, in a residential neighborhood in Madison, Alabama, U.S. A neighborhood resident called the police on Patel, who was visiting his son and spoke no English, for alleged suspicious behavior in the neighborhood. Video footage from two police car dashboard cameras shows the officer slamming Patel to the ground. He was hospitalized and is partially paralyzed from his injuries. The incident led many citizens to accuse Madison Police Department of police brutality and prompted a response from the Indian government.[1][2]

Police officer Eric Parker, accused of injuring Patel, was fired from the Madison Police Department and charged with third-degree assault. In March 2015, the FBI charged Parker with felony civil rights abuse, but he was later acquitted of all charges. Parker was reinstated into the force in 2016.

Backgrounds

Sureshbhai Patel

Sureshbhai Patel is from Gujarat, India. He arrived in Madison a week before the incident to visit his son Chirag, who works as an engineer there, and to help take care of his 17-month-old grandson with his daughter-in-law. Patel speaks Gujarati and Hindi but not English.[3]

Eric Parker

Parker was 26 years old at the time of the incident and worked for the Madison Police Department from 2013 to 2015. He speaks English but understands neither Gujarati nor Hindi.[2]

Incident

At 9 a.m., Patel was taking a stroll outside his son's house. A man in the neighborhood called 911 to report a suspicious man lurking about and peering into garages. He described Patel as a "skinny black man wearing a toboggan [sic]." A few minutes later, two police officers approached Patel on a sidewalk. Parker asked Patel for his identification. Patel said repeatedly that he did not know English and was from India. The video appears to show Parker throwing Patel to the ground face first ninety seconds into the encounter. His hands also appeared to be behind his back as he was pushed. Patel's family allege that Parker also twisted Patel's arm.[2]

Injuries

Patel was hospitalized at Huntsville Hospital and Madison Hospital for spinal swelling and underwent surgery for his vertebrae. He is partially paralyzed.[3] He was treated at the Healthsouth Rehabilitation Center in Huntsville, where he had to relearn how to walk.[4]

Donors raised over $209,000 for Patel from a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay for his medical bills.[5]

One week after the incident, Parker was charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor punishable with a maximum of one year in jail and a $6,000 fine. He turned himself in to the Limestone County Jail on February 12 and posted $1,000 bond.[2]

On March 26, he was indicted by a federal grand jury.[6] Parker was charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with deprivation of rights under the color of law, a felony that carries a maximum of ten years in prison. According to U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, the violation includes the constitutional right to be free from "unreasonable force."[4]

In April, Parker pleaded not guilty to the federal charge at the federal courthouse in Huntsville, and was released on $5,000 bond. His trial for the federal charge was set for June 1, 2015, while the state charge trial was set for May 13, 2015.[7] On September 11, 2015, a jury failed to reach a verdict for the federal civil rights violations charge. Federal prosecutors planned to retry Parker.[8]

On January 13, 2016, U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala granted an acquittal motion by the Alabama cops' attorneys, ending the federal civil trial for Parker permanently. The prosecution filed a counter motion to not acquit Parker, but the judge dismissed the prosecution's motion, siding with the defense instead, and said that the victim committed a misdemeanor by leaving the house without identification.[9]

The first federal case for civil rights violations against Parker ended in a mistrial when ten non-Black male jurors voted to acquit him while two Black female jurors voted to convict.[10] The second and last federal case against Parker also ended in a mistrial, and a federal judge from Alabama dismissed the charges against Parker to prevent a third federal trial.[11] The misdemeanor assault charge against Parker was dismissed in July 2016.[12]

Lawsuit

On February 12, Patel and his lawyer, Hank Sherrod, filed a federal lawsuit against Madison police for use of excessive force and racial profiling.[5]

On May 27, 2020 the U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit ruled that a civil rights lawsuit filed against Parker and the city of Madison can move forward.[13][14][15]

In April 2021, Patel settled the lawsuit for $1.75 million.[16]

Reactions

U.S. reactions

Ami Bera, an Indian American congressman and co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India, described the incident as "horrible and tragic." Members of the Asian Pacific American Caucus, including Michael Honda and Judy Chu, have condemned the treatment of Patel and claimed that it was excessive force and an example of "contempt of cop".[5]

Response from Indian government

Syed Akbaruddin, a former spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs of India, said that the Indian government was disturbed by the treatment of Mr. Patel and was taking the incident "very seriously." He stated that India's officials planned to contact the U.S. mission in New Delhi and officials in Washington, D.C. and Alabama.[17]

Return to work

Parker was subsequently allowed to return to work at the Madison Police Department and cleared of any policy violation of the department. He was required to undergo re-certification.[18][19]

References

  1. ↑ Madison police fire and arrest officer who badly injured Indian man, Al.com
  2. 1 2 3 4 Alabama police beating, CNN
  3. 1 2 Indian grandfather injured followed a well trodden path to Alabama, Al.com
  4. 1 2 Stephens, Challen. Alabama officer who slammed down Indian grandfather indicted on federal civil rights charge, Al.com, March 27, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Over $120K donated for Sureshbhai Patel Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, IndiaWest
  6. ↑ Fausset, Richard (March 27, 2015). "Alabama Police Officer Indicted in Confrontation With Unarmed Indian Man". New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  7. ↑ Former U.S. cop who slammed Sureshbhai Parel pleads not guilty, The Economic Times, April 22, 2015.
  8. ↑ Jones, Tiani. No verdict in Eric Parker trial Archived 2015-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, WTVM, September 12, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Cop Acquitted of Excessive Force That Left Indian Man Paralyzed". Photography is Not a Crime. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  10. ↑ "Hung jury favored cop who took down Indian grandfather". 15 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "Judge throws out case over takedown of Indian grandfather". 14 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Charges Dropped for Alabama Cop Who Partially Paralyzed Grandfather". NBC News.
  13. ↑ "Federal appeals court rules excessive force lawsuit against Madison police officer can move forward". Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  14. ↑ "Lawsuit over Alabama police officer's takedown of Indian grandfather may proceed, court rules". al.com. 2020-05-27. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  15. ↑ "US Courts" (PDF).
  16. ↑ Grotjahn, Jess (8 April 2021). "Grandfather injured by MPD officer settles lawsuit for $1.75 million". News 19. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  17. ↑ Indian government extremely disturbed, Al.com
  18. ↑ Ary, Patrick. "Eric Parker returning to work at Madison Police Department". Huntsville News | WAAYTV.com and ABC 31. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  19. ↑ "Madison police officer Eric Parker returning from administrative leave". WHNT.com. 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
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