Madison police in Alabama State assaulted an elderly Indian citizen walking on the sidewalk outside his son’s home in the Huntsville city of Madison county, leaving him hospitalised with a fused vertebrae and his left leg paralysed.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded to reports of the incident and established contact with both the local police as well as the family.
The incident took place last week, and was reported in AL.com. The police said they received a call from a neighbour early Friday about a man looking in to the garages of homes.
Sureshbhai Patel, the 57 year old man from India, does not speak English. This was his second trip to the US.
The police statement said the officer attempted to frisk the man, pulling his arm behind him and pinning him face down to the ground. The assault left Patel bleeding from his face.
The son, Chirag Patel, is studying at the University of Alabama for a masters degree. Sureshbhai had been approved as a permanent resident of the United States, which means he could stay for as long as he liked.
Madison, an affluent county in Alabama, is home to about 46,000 residents and home to many foreign-born professionals.
Chirag Patel told AL.com that he came to the United States about 10 years ago to study engineering.
Meanwhile, Hank Sherrod, attorney for the family, has said the family will sue, but the case hasn’t been filed yet. Al.com also reported that Madison Police department has suspended the concerned officer and was investigating the use of force in this case. Ironically, the statement also wished the elder Patel a “speedy recovery.”
Outrage poured out on twitter in reaction to this report.
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