Indian American senior Sureshbhai Patel, who was severely assaulted by Madison, Alabama police on Feb. 6, 2015 11 days after he arrived in the U.S. for the birth of his first grandchild, has received a $1.75 million settlement in his civil lawsuit against the city and the two police officers involved in the incident.
The lawsuit does not name the officers involved in the incident: they are identified as John Doe and Jim Smith. But extensive coverage of the case revealed that the officer trainee, Eric Parker, performed a front leg sweep on Patel, knocking him to the ground before arresting him. The two officers arrived at the scene after a neighbor called police, saying âa skinny black manâ was walking around the neighborhood peering into peopleâs garages.
Case of Alabama police officer who slammed Indian grandfather to ground settled for $1.75 million
Updated Apr 08, 2021;
An Indian man who was injured in 2015 during an encounter with a Madison police officer has settled his federal lawsuit against the officer’s insurance carrier for $1.75 million.
Sureshbai Patel’s attorney, Hank Sherrod, announced the settlement today, which means that Patel’s case has been formally dismissed.
On Feb. 6, 2015, Patel, then 57, was out for a walk near his son’s home in Madison. A citizen of India, Patel was visiting his son and daughter-in-law and their child.
Video showed the moment that day when Patel was contacted by two Madison police officers, a new officer going through field training and his training officer, Eric Parker. According to Madison police at the time, they were responding to a call regarding someone looking into garages.