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A 57-year-old grandfather from India got the most unwelcoming treatment imaginable when, less than two weeks after he moved to Alabama to move in with his son, he was reportedly beaten so badly by police officers that he was left partially paralyzed. The incident took place while the man was reportedly doing nothing more than taking a daytime stroll in his new suburban neighborhood.
Sureschbhai Patel and his wife had recently relocated to Madison, Alabama, to help his son and his wife raise their 17-month-old son while his son went back to school to earn his master's degree in engineering.
Patel was reportedly taking a walk, something his son says he always does, when one of their neighbors called police to report there was a suspicious-looking "black guy" walking around and peering toward garages. Two officers reportedly stopped Patel on the street, but the man couldn't speak English.
He reportedly told them "no English" and repeated his son's address. Police say they tried to frisk Patel but that he walked away. And that was when one of the officers reportedly slammed Patel face-first into the ground—an astounding 90 seconds after the confrontation began.
The incident was apparently recorded and those audio and video recordings have been used in the internal affairs investigation. Police officer Eric Parker has since been arrested and is being fired from the force.
Patel, meanwhile, suffered partial paralysis and was hospitalized with fused vertebrae. His family says they are hopeful that he will make a full recovery.
Hank Sherrod, an attorney for the family, says Patel wouldn't have been stopped if he didn't have brown skin. He confirmed that the Patel family plans on taking legal action.
Are you surprised something like this could happen in a small suburban town?
Image via RubyGoes/Flickr
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