America
How 'no English,' 'Indian,' 'walking,' grandfather was assaulted
The lawyer of an Indian
grandfather who was assaulted by an Alabama police officer leaving him
partially paralysed has in an amended lawsuit detailed how his repeated
attempts to explain went in vain.
The amended civil rights
lawsuit filed in federal court Friday seeks unspecified compensatory and
punitive damages for the Feb 6 assault on Sureshbhai Patel, 57, while
he was taking a walk in front of his son Chirag Patel's house in a
Madison suburb.
The initial complaint, filed Feb 12 by Patel's
lawyer, Hank Sherrod, named Madison city and two at-that-time
unidentified officers, John Doe and Jim Smith, as defendants.
It
has dropped the charges against a second police officer, a trainee, and
no longer accuses the department of making up the emergency call or
hiding the dash cam.
Parker was arrested for assault after
Madison Police released an audio of the call and the dash cam video that
showed Parker taking Patel down.
The lawsuit accuses the officer of illegal seizure, unlawful search, excessive force, false arrest and assault and battery.
According
to the lawsuit, Patel had arrived in the US only days before to assist
his son and daughter-in-law in caring for their 17-month-old son, who
was developmentally delayed after a premature birth.
Giving the
circumstances of the case leading to the assault, the lawsuit says,
"Patel dressed for the walk in plain pants, a button shirt, a sweater,
and a knit cap."
"He had nothing in his pants except for a green
patterned handkerchief that was later used by officers to wipe blood
from Patel's face."
On the morning of Feb 6, "Patel walked the
same path he had walked on other mornings since arriving in the United
States, straight down Hardiman Place Lane, the street on which his son
lived, and back."
Patel's prior morning walks were without
incident, but that morning a "neighbour called the Madison Police
Department and reported Patel as a suspicious person."
"Parker, a
field training officer, and a police officer trainee were dispatched to
investigate," it said. "Parker and his trainee parked their patrol car,
approached Patel, and ordered him to stop."
Patel told the
officers "no English," "Indian," "walking," and pointed down the street
and said "house number [actual number]," as he continued to attempt to
explain the situation to the officers.
The lawsuit said "Patel is
a small man, weighing between 130 and 140 pounds, probably closer to
130, and is narrow of frame and mild of manner. He appeared to be
nothing other than the grandfather from India he was."
"Parker
then searched Patel for weapons," it said calling the search as
"unnecessary and illegal, as there was no reason to believe Patel was
armed or presented any kind of danger or threat."
"After the
search, without provocation, Parker restrained Patel's arms and slammed
Patel face first into the ground," the lawsuit alleged.
This use
of force was unnecessary and excessive, it said noting "Patel's face was
bloodied, but, much worse, there was significant trauma to Patel's
spinal cord, and he immediately became paralysed in his arms and legs."
Emergency
personnel were eventually called, and Patel was first taken to Madison
Hospital and later transferred to Huntsville Hospital because of the
severity of his condition.
Patel, who required surgery to fuse
broken vertebrae together, has regained movement in his arms, though he
still cannot grip anything with his hands, the lawsuit said.
He has also regained some use of his right leg, but remains paralysed in the left.
He
was transferred to a Huntsville rehabilitation centre on Feb 16. His
wife, Shakuntala Patel, is seeking a humanitarian visa so she can come
to the US to see her husband.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])