MADISON, Ala. (Diya TV) — The family of Sureshbhai Patel, an elderly man who was brutally slammed to the ground by police during a visit to the U.S. to see his family, filed an amended complaint in federal court last week.
The revised complaint was filed in direct response to a renowned motion filed in June by Madison, Ala. city attorneys requesting the Patel’s lawsuit be dismissed. Their lawsuit alleges that the 58-year-old Patel’s constitutional rights were violated when officer Eric Parker, who was responding to a report of a suspicious man, stopped Patel on the street, searched him for weapons, and allegedly slammed him to the ground using a leg sweep.
Dashcam footage from Parker’s car captured the incident, which occurred in February of last year. Patel, who was later placed in handcuffs, suffered injury to his spinal cord, and “immediately became paralyzed in his arms and legs,” according to the lawsuit. He has since made substantial improvements after a long period of rehabilitation, it added.
Parker denied vehemently the allegations made against him in Patel’s first amended complaint, which was filed in Feb. 2015. The embattled officer said he only brought Patel to the ground after the man had jerked away from him multiple times while he was attempting to search him for weapons, according to court documents.
Madison’s motion for case dismissal contends that a reading of Patel’s complaint shows Parker’s alleged actions were intentional, not negligent. Alabama state law shields a city from liability for the intentional acts of its employees, the motion argues. Additionally, under Alabama law, the city is shielded of liability from actions which occur from employees committed with intent, and, Parker and the City of Madison would have immunity from state charges if Parker’s actions were negligent, it adds.
Filed last Monday in Alabama’s U.S. District Court for the Northern District, Patel’s complaint perpetuates its accusation of Parker’s violations of Alabama state law for illegal search and assault, false arrest and false imprisonment, and assault and battery and excessive force. However, the amended complaint is without the liability claim against the city for negligence from the three state counts.
In the place of those three, Patel’s complaint alleges Parker’s conduct “was either negligent, wanton, malicious, willful, or in bad faith.” That in addition to the allegations that Parker violated Patel’s constitutional rights against illegal seizure, unlawful search, and excessive force.
There were also two new counts added against Madison: failing to train its police officers, and employing department policies, such as police stops and weapons pat downs, that resulted in a violation of Patel’s constitutional rights.
