You might remember the story of the officer Eric Parker of the Madison, Alabama police department, who violently threw to the ground an Indian native, Sureshbhai Patel, apparently because he couldn’t speak English. Patel ended up hospitalized and suffers from paralysis after the police officer did this to him on February 6th after stopping him from walking in the neighborhood where Mr. Patel’s son, daughter-in-law and grandchild live (TRIGGER WARNING- Graphic violence depicted):
While Eric Parker’s termination from the Madison Police Department is on appeal, a Federal Grand Jury has indicted him for civil rights violations in regards to the excessive use of force he employed against Mr. Patel.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Birmingham announced Friday that Madison Police Officer Eric Parker has been indicted on civil rights violations charges. […]
The FBI conducted a civil rights inquiry and turned over its findings to the U.S. Department of Justice. […]
[Patel’s attorney, Hank] Sherrod released this statement after the indictment was announced:
“Mr. Patel and his family are very pleased by the prompt and decisive action of U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance and the federal grand jury. For the public to trust police officers, it needs to know officers will be held accountable, and the felony civil rights charges filed against Parker, unlike the misdemeanor assault charge being pursued in state court, more accurately reflect the seriousness of Parker’s conduct.
Mr. Patel and his family are also deeply thankful for the continued support and concern of the local community and the general public. With the wind of these good thoughts and prayers at his back, through hard work and with the help of skilled and caring therapists at Healthsouth Rehabilitation Center in Huntsville, Mr. Patel has made tremendous progress in his recovery. Recently, Mr. Patel was able to walk a short distance on his own using a walker, an important milestone in his recovery. In the near future, Mr. Patel expects to be released to the home of his son, Chirag, where he will continue his therapy.”
U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance had the following to say regarding the charges against Eric Parker for deprivation of rights under color of law with respect to his excessive use of force in slamming Mr. Patel to ground on a concrete sidewalk.
“Police officers are sworn to uphold the law and protect the public,” said Vance in a prepared statement today. “The public must be able trust the police.”
During a press conference in Birmingham, Vance said the federal charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. Parker, 26, also faces trial in Limestone County on April 29 on a charge of misdemeanor assault, which carries up to one year in jail.
What happened to Mr. Patel was outrageous. Thankfully, the FBI and the Department of Justice moved swiftly to deal with this violent act of unwarranted violent and criminal assault on an innocent man, who had every right to be walking in the neighborhood where his son lived. Mr. Patel had recently come to America to help with childcare responsibilities of his grandchild. He deserved far better treatment from the law enforcement community, which far too often doesn’t promote public safety or protect people, but instead acts like a lawless gang of thugs above the law. Hopefully, Eric Parker will be convicted for his actions and serve time in a federal prison for this violent assault.
A copy of Federal indictment is at this link.
Hopefully, Mr. Patel will be able to sue someone to pay for his medical care. In my mind, Parker AND his department are jointly responsible.
That was horrible.
Honest question: It seems the only time the feds can get involved if it is a civil rights case — so cops can throw around white people with no fear of having to face any punishment from people not one-degree-of-separation from their police chief.
Is there any movement to make the federal government the last resort for victims of police brutality, regardless of race? Is it absolutely ridiculous to propose? Are there obvious constitutional obstacles (“obvious” meaning “obvious”, not “obvious” meaning “the Roberts court might strike it down, those guys can find a reason for anything.”)?
“Civil Rights” does not refer to non-white rights as many people think. The term refers to the rights of ALL citizens.
Cool. From the DOJ website:
“The Criminal Section prosecutes cases involving the violent interference with liberties and rights defined in the Constitution or federal law. The rights of both citizens and non-citizens are protected. In general, it is the use of force, threats, or intimidation that characterize a federal criminal violation of an individual’s civil rights.
Our cases often involve incidents that are invariably of intense public interest. While some violations may most appropriately be pursued by the federal Government, others can be addressed by either the federal Government or by state or local prosecutors. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that acts constituting federal criminal civil rights violations are sufficiently remedied, whether prosecuted federally or by local authorities.”
However, I haven’t heard about the Feds bringing civil rights cases for police brutality outside of race & religious discrimination, which is why I thought the authority was derived from the Civil Rights Act.
And if the Federal government does indeed have the authority to protect the civil rights of all citizens from police brutality, there is a lot more they could be doing, it seems. I ask because I really wonder how likely it is that localities are going to reform themselves.
But I shouldn’t dream too big. NOT donating military equipment to police might be a good start.
And are people still watching these videos? I’ve had to stop. It seems there are three-a-week.
This is assault by cop. IOKIYW?
This case is being kept in the news because of the moneymen down in Huntsville. All those tech companies down there, who have to recruit good employees from around the world, are not going to let this outrageousness pass. Remember, the Governor of Alabama APOLOGIZED to the Indian Government for this. It’s where it took place.