America
US lawmakers condemn police assault on Indian grandfather
By
By Arun Kumar Washington, Feb 14
Several US lawmakers
condemned the police assault on an Indian grandfather who was slammed to
the ground by a police officer in Alabama - while he was out for a walk
in the neighbourhood - leaving him partially paralysed as donations
poured in for the victim.
The police officer Eric Parker, who
assaulted Sureshbhai Patel, 57, Feb 6 while he was taking a walk in
front of his son Chirag Patel's house in a Madison, Alabama suburb was
arrested Thursday and Police Chief Larry Muncey has recommended that he
be fired.
Parker was released on $1,000 bond from the Limestone
County Jail. A court appearance has been set for him for March 12,
according to WAFF-TV, a local news channel,
Patel, who had come
from India recently to look after his grandson who was born prematurely,
filed a lawsuit Thursday saying his civil rights were violated. It
seeks an unspecified amount of money. According to the lawsuit, Patel
said he tried to tell the officers that he doesn't speak English, saying
"No English. Indian. Walking."
Both police videos show two officers eventually forcing Patel to the ground with his hands behind his back.
One
police video captured an officer asking Patel, "Did you bite your lip?"
as he remained on the ground. The officers repeatedly attempted to get
Patel to "stand up" so they could move him to a patrol car.
According to the lawsuit, Patel was paralysed in his arms and legs after officers forced him to the ground, his face bloodied.
State
Department spokesperson Jen Psaki when asked Friday whether the
department was sending any officials to Alabama to meet the victim along
with Indian officials told reporters that "I don't believe there's a
role for the State Department here."
"We certainly wish Mr. Patel
a full recovery from his injuries. Our thoughts are with his family,"
she said declining further comment as "this case is under
investigation."
The lone Indian Congressman Ami Bera, who is also
co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans and a
member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the incident
"horrible and tragic."
Noting that the FBI has opened an
investigation, he said: "Moving forward, we must come together as a
nation to tackle the very real issues our minority communities face, and
to rebuild trust and understanding among law enforcement agencies and
the diverse communities that they serve."
Several members of the
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) including chair Judy
Chu, Michael Honda, Ted Lieu, Jan Schakowsky and Grace Meng also
condemned the use of excessive police force against Sureshbhai Patel.
"In
no way should the colour of someone's skin or their limited English
proficiency lead to the type of confusion and unreasonable use of force
that left Mr. Patel partially paralysed," said Chu.
"As we await
the FBI's findings, I will continue to work with my colleagues in
Congress to ensure that this type of profiling and excessive force is no
longer permitted by law enforcement," she said.
Meanwhile,
according to the Washington Post donations have been pouring into
GoFundMe account set by a member of the Indian community, who is not
related to the family, to help with Patel's medical bills and other
expenses.
That GoFundMe page has collected more than $50,000 in
donations for the family as of late Friday morning. The fund is trying
to raise $100,000 for Patel, who has no insurance.
Patel's lawyer
Hank Sherrod told The Post Friday that Indian Americans from all over
the country have contacted him directly about sending cheques to the
family to cover medical bills.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])