Police chief in Patel case held in contempt, placed on leave

MADISON, Ala. (Diya TV) — Madison police chief Larry Muncey was held in contempt of court last week, fined $2,500, ordered to undergo special training and has been placed on administrative leave by the town’s mayor.

The maximum penalty Muncey could have faced was six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Muncey is the only person to be convicted in the Indian grandfather case, which arose from a February 2015 incident that resulted in an elderly Indian man being slammed to the ground by Madison police officer Eric Parker, who was reportedly responding to a suspicious person call. When Parker arrived, he stopped Sureshbhai Patel, who was walking by his son’s home.

Parker has been tried twice in federal court for the violation of Patel’s civil rights, but neither jury could reach a verdict. He was ultimately acquitted of civil rights violation charges by U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala, who then brought contempt charges against Muncey.

Muncey on Thursday announced he was taking a leave of absence, and with him on leave, Major Jim Cooke has been named acting police chief by Madison mayor Troy Trulock.

Judge Haikala’s contempt ruling stems from Muncey’s improper communication with witnesses — all fellow police officers — during the civil rights trial of the aforementioned Parker. Additionally, the judge said Muncey was wrong to assign a subordinate to observe courtroom proceedings once he was barred from doing so. He was also wrong in ordering officers who testified at the trial to submit reports of their testimony to him within 24 hours, the judge said.

Speaking from the bench for nearly 30 minutes, Judge Haikala outlined Muncey’s transgressions, saying repeatedly that the special prosecutor had proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt. At the same time, she said she understood the position Muncey had been put in with trying to protect the department’s liability with such an unusual case. Regardless, he violated a clear order from the judge, she said.

Muncey has to “trust the process,” she said.

Muncey himself testified earlier that special prosecutors had over-stepped their boundaries during the process of trying to build their civil rights case against Parker.

“I told them they had a weak case,” Muncey testified in federal court. “They were trying to prove willfulness and it just was not there.”

Patel, who speaks no English, required surgery on his spine after the incident with Parker. At the time, Muncey recommended that Parker, who was charged with a single count of misdemeanor assault, be fired.