Patel has filed a civil lawsuit against Parker, and the city of Madison is attempting to fire him.
Advertisement
The judge is trying to avoid a second mistrial for Parker on charges of violating the rights of 58-year-old Sureshbhai Patel (suh-REHSH’-by pah-TEL’) during an encounter in February. During his first trial in September, another jury in Huntsville, Alabama, federal court also deadlocked, resulting in the first mistrial. The new jury spent more than three days deliberating after receiving the case on Friday afternoon.
Assistant US Attorney Robert Posey, according to Al.com said Tuten had moved the judge for acquittal after the mistrial.
Parker and another officer stopped Patel. Courtesy of Hank Sherrod, attorney for Patel family.
If found guilty, Parker faces up to 10 years of imprisonment for assaulting Patel, who is still undergoing treatment.
Lakshmi Sridaran, director of national policy and advocacy for South Asian Americans Leading Together, a national civil rights organization, told NBC News Wednesday evening that her organization was very disappointed to hear about the second mistrial.
Patel wasn’t armed and suffered a spinal injury when he was thrown down face-first on a lawn.
She said that Parker’s case has ended in a mistrial after the jury informed her that they voted twice today, but failed to arrive at a decision.
Patel who does not speak English, was walking in front of his son’s home on the morning of Feb 6 when a neighbour called police to report a suspicious person. Parker said he lost his balance and fell on top of the man.
Advertisement
But one of the other responding officers, a 20-year veteran of the Madison police department, told the jury that in his view Patel did not pose a threat to police and that Patel did not jerk his hand, as if reaching for a knife or a gun, as Parker had testified. The judge must rule on that before the prosecution can decide whether to bring the case back for a third trial.
