Last week in Alabama, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that the police officer who threw a 57-year-old Indian man to the ground, severely injuring him, has been indicted on civil rights violations charges.
Madison Police officer indicted for civil rights violation
Officer Eric Parker of the Madison Police Department was fired and charged with third-degree assault for using excessive force on Sureshbhai Patel, who had been visiting his family from India. The incident left him partially paralyzed and hospitalized with a fused vertebrae.
Mr. Patel, who does not speak English, was on an afternoon walk when he was stopped by police responding to a call about a "suspicious person." Police video shows Parker yanking Patel's arm and slamming him into the ground. He suffered serious injuries requiring surgery and months of rehabilitation.
On Friday, the Justice Department announced that Parker had been indicted for violating Mr. Patel's civil rights.
On Friday, the Justice Department announced that the officer, Eric Parker, 26, had been indicted late Thursday. The two-page indictment alleges that Officer Parker, in slamming Mr. Patel to the ground, deprived him of his constitutional right “to be free from unreasonable seizures, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by one acting under color of law.”
This has become a borderline international incident, with observers in Indian news media expressing outrage over Mr. Patel's treatment. The governor of Alabama even contacted the Indian consul general in Atlanta, expressing "deep regret" for the Madison Police Department's excessive use of force.
Meanwhile, Mr. Patel, who has reportedly regained some use of limbs, has filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court against Parker and the city of Madison, seeking unspecified damages.
More here: Alabama Police Officer Indicted in Confrontation With Unarmed Indian Man
