US cop assault on Indian elder: Defense blames victim, says 'follow our laws and speak our language'

One of the officers hurled the old man to the ground, injuring and partly paralysing him.
US cop assault on Indian elder: Defense blames victim, says 'follow our laws and speak our language'
US cop assault on Indian elder: Defense blames victim, says 'follow our laws and speak our language'
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The defense attorney for a Madison police officer, who attacked a 57-year-old Indian man, which left him injured and partly paralysed, has said during the trial that the use of excessive force was the man’s own fault, Alabama.com reported.

The second trial of Eric Parker, the accused police officer took place on October 27.  Parker faces a federal charge for using excessive force on a 57-year-old Indian citizen, Sureshbhai Patel.

According to the report, the defence attorney, Robert Tuten told the jury that the intensification of force was largely due to the fault of Patel. He said that Patel knew the meaning of the English word ‘stop’ but did not stop walking even after the police called out to him and walked a few steps more. He also said that Patel reached for his pocket, which could have contained a weapon. “When you come to the U.S. we expect you to follow our laws and speak our language” said Tuten. “Mr.Patel bears as much responsibility for this as anyone.”

Tuten justified that the takedown was “unfortunate but not criminal”. He told the jury that Patel refused to take his hands out of his pockets and that a police cannot tell if a person is reaching out for a knife or a gun or a razor blade.  Tuten spoke of officer safety and survival training to justify that what the police officer did, was in fact necessary for self-defence.

However, assistant U.S. attorney Robert Posey said that Patel made no sudden movements but only kept pointing and walking the officers towards his son’s house after repeating “No English” five times and “India” three times, the report further states.

Posey argued that Patel was being threatened by the officer who asked Patel to ‘stop jerking around’ even though Patel appeared to be standing motionless. He further said that the “old, skinny grandfather” was left paralysed after the encounter and that there were other options of restricting his movement like handcuffing the man other than hurling him to the ground.

To this, Tuten said, “It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t speak English but in America, that’s what we speak.” He told the jury that if the old man had only cooperated with the police, they would have determined that there was no threat of crime and would have let him go, the report adds.

In September, Sureshbhai Patel had gone to visit his son in the U.S and welcome a new member into their family. While he was taking a walk close to his son’s house, two officers who were intimated by a neighbour of suspicious behaviour of a black man, mistook the Indian to be the trouble maker and asked him to stop. When Patel failed to comply because he didn’t understand English, one of the officers, Eric Parker hurled the old man to the ground, injuring and partly paralysing him. 

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