The lawsuit on use of excessive force slapped by an attorney for the family of Sureshbhai Patel, the Indian visitor who was left partially paralysed in a police assault in Alabama’s Madison City on February 6, has dropped the names of a second police officer. The amended lawsuit that seeks unspecified damages lists dismissed police officer Eric Parker and the City of Madison as defendants.
The 57-year-old Patel, who underwent surgery to fuse broken vertebrae after the assault, has regained arm movement but still lacks grip strength. He has regained some use of his right leg, but the left leg remains largely paralysed even now. “The rehabilitation process is expected to be lengthy and difficult, and it is not known whether Patel will make a full recovery,” says the lawsuit that was first filed on February 12 and was amended last Friday.
The initial complaint named the City of Madison and two at-that-time unidentified officers as defendants. A second officer, a trainee, was with Parker when he went to investigate a complaint that ended up in his assault of Patel, who had arrived from India to help his son and daughter-in-law take care of their 17-month-old child.
The officers’ act of stopping Patel was in itself “without reasonable suspicion or probable cause and was illegal”, says the suit, filed by attorney Hank Sherrod for the Patel family.
“After the search, without provocation, Parker restrained Patel’s arms and slammed Patel face first into the ground. This use of force was unnecessary and excessive. Patel’s face was bloodied but, much worse, there was significant trauma to Patel’s spinal cord, and he immediately became paralysed in his arms and legs,” says the suit, stressing at different places: “The conduct of Parker was either negligent, wanton, malicious, willful, or in bad faith.”
Explaining the case against the City of Madison, it says: “To the extent that the conduct of Parker was negligent or careless, the City is liable for his conduct, as he was acting within the line and scope of his employment with the City.” Apart from an unspecified award in compensatory damages, the suit seeks that Patel be awarded the costs, his attorney fees and expert witness fees.