Sureshbhai Patel

At 9 a.m., Patel was taking a stroll outside his son's house. A man in the neighborhood called 911 reporting that he saw a suspicious looking man lurking on the area and peering into garages. He described Patel as a "skinny black man wearing a toboggan [sic]." In a few minutes Patel was approached by two police officers on a sidewalk. Officer Eric Parker asked Patel for his identification and Patel responded by saying that he did not know English and was from India repeatedly. The video appears to show Parker throwing Patel to the ground face first ninety seconds after the encounter began. His hands also appeared to be behind his back as he was pushed. Patel's family also allege that Patel had his arm twisted by Parker.[2]

Patel was hospitalized at Huntsville Hospital and Madison Hospital for spinal swelling and has undergone surgery for his vertebrae. He is partially paralyzed.[3] He has been treated at the Healthsouth Rehabilitation Center in Huntsville, where he had to learn how to walk again.[4]

Donors have raised over $209,000 for Patel from a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay for his medical bill.[5]

One week after the incident, Eric Parker was charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor that is punishable with a maximum of one year in jail and a $6,000 fine. He turned himself in to the Limestone County Jail on February 12 and posted $1,000 bond.[2]

On March 26, he was indicted by a federal grand jury.[6] Parker was charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with deprivation of rights under the color of law, which is a felony that carries a maximum of ten years in prison. According to US Attorney Joyce White Vance, the violation includes the constitutional right to be free from "unreasonable force."[4]

In April, Parker pleaded not guilty to the federal charge at the federal courthouse in Huntsville, and was released on $5,000 bond. His trial for the federal charge was set for June 1, 2015, while the state charge trial was set for May 13, 2015.[7] On September 11, 2015, a jury failed to reach a verdict for the federal civil rights violations charge. Federal prosecutors planned to retry Parker.[8]

On January 13, 2016 U.S.District Judge Madeline Haikala granted an acquittal motion by the Alabama cop’s attorneys, ending the federal civil trial for Parker permanently. The prosecution filed a counter motion to not acquit Parker, but the judge dismissed the prosecutions’ motion, instead siding with the defense, saying the victim, committed a misdemeanor by leaving the house without identification.[9][10]

The first federal case for civil rights violations against Parker ended in a mistrial when ten white male jurors voted to acquit him while two black female jurors voted to convict.[11] The second and last federal case against Parker also ended in a mistrial, with a federal judge from Alabama dismissing the charges against Parker to prevent a third federal trial.[12] The misdemeanor assault charge against Parker was dismissed in July 2016.[13]

On February 12, Sureshbhai Patel and his lawyer, Hank Sherrod, filed a federal lawsuit asking for an unspecified amount of money, accusing the Madison police of excessive force and racial profiling.[5]
On May 27, 2020 The United States Court of Appeals 11th Circuit ruled that a civil rights lawsuit filed against Madison police officer Eric Parker and the city of Madison can move forward .[14][15][16]

Eric Parker was subsequently allowed to return to work at the Madison Police Department, being cleared of any policy violation of the department. He was required to undergo re-certification.[18][19]