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US cop indicted for using unreasonable force on Indian Sureshbhai Patel

by IBNS 28 Mar 2015, 11:09 am

Washington, Mar 28(IBNS) A US police officer, accused of throwing to the ground and causing partial paralysis of a 57-year-old Indian has been indicted on Friday by grand jury on a civil rights charge for the use of unreasonable force.

Eric Parker, 26, then an officer with the Madison Police Department, was seen on video recorded from inside a patrol car on Feb. 6, 2015  throwing Sureshbhai Patel, 57, to the ground after attempting to question him.

Patel, who was in the US to visit his son living in  northern Alabama, was badly injured,his lawyer Henry Sherrod said.

"For the public to trust police officers, it needs to know officers will be held accountable," Sherrod said in a statement.

Patel was on a walk in his neighborhood when the incident took place.

The indictment charges that Parker acted under the colour of law to deny Patel's civil rights. The indictment carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

"For the public to trust police officers, it needs to know officers will be held accountable," Sherrod said in a statement.

The case was investigated by the FBI. Parker was suspended by the Madison Police days after the incident. The Madison Police last month recommended that he be sacked.