American jury fails to decide on Sureshbhai Patel assault case
WASHINGTON: A US federal jury holding the retrial of a police officer accused of assaulting a 57-year-old Indian grandfather that left him partially paralysed has failed to arrive at a decision on the case.
After day-long deliberations on Monday, the 12-member jury watched multiple times the 10-minute video of the February 6 incident in which Sureshbhai Patel was partially paralysed in Albama’s Madison city.
The jury later decided to meet again on Tuesday, local media reported.
If found guilty of using excessive force against Patel, former Huntsville police official Eric Parker faces up to 10 years of imprisonment.
Parker, 27, who has now been suspended by the Huntsville Police is accused of having violated the civil rights by using excessive force when he knocked Sureshbhai down to the ground.
The incident left Patel partially paralysed for which he is still undergoing treatment.
Parker’s first trial in September had ended in a mistrial. US lawmakers had condemned the police assault on Patel, describing it as “horrible and tragic”.
Patel, a permanent resident, had moved from India to the United States to live with his engineer son and care for his grandson.
He had arrived six days earlier and was out for a walk when a neighbor called police about a suspicious man in the neighbourhood.
Patel, who does not speak English, testified through a translator last week that he did not jerk away and was standing still when Parker held his hands behind his back.